French Polishing 143 



XIV. FRENCH POLISHING. 



This is a method of preserving wood from atmospheric 

 influences, which adds greatly to the appearance of the work. 



It is not difficult of accomplishment, but considerable 

 time must be devoted to the acquirement of the skill necessary 

 for the performance of the operation with certainty and com- 

 plete success. It is easy to do, but difficult to do well. 



Before commencing the actual polishing, the surface must 

 be prepared, and this process will differ considerably according 

 to the nature of the wood. 



Soft woods Basswood, yellow pine, cedar, etc. polish 

 badly, i.e. the polishing requires much more time, energy, 

 and material, and the result is more transient; it is difficult 

 to attain a permanent high polish upon a soft wood. 



Hard woods oak, walnut, mahogany, etc., polish well 

 a little polish and little time being sufficient to produce 

 a hard, bright, and lasting surface. 



The difference appears to be due to the nature of the 

 wood fibre rather than to the porosity of the wood itself, as 

 some porous woods, e.g. mahogany and oak, polish well, 

 but these have hard fibres. 



All woods must have their pores stopped before polish- 

 ing, and of course no plane or tool marks should be visible, 

 as these will show up with far greater persistence after 

 polishing. 



Soft woods may be brought up to a "fine" surface by 

 the use of progressively finer grades of glass-paper ; but hard 

 woods should be scraped to a fine surface before being glass- 

 papered, and then only the finest grades of paper used. 



Glass-paper will, to some extent, fill up the pores the 

 fine " dust " removed by the paper being rubbed into them. 

 As fine a surface as possible having been obtained in this 

 way, hard woods are treated by rubbing in a mixture of 

 whiting and raw linseed oil, preferably stained with some 

 suitable colour matching the natural colour of the wood. Soft 

 woods should be simply oiled. The rubbing should be done 

 with a linen cloth, and the oil or mixture of oil and whiting, 



