430 
iosin  added  to  harden  the  surface,  but  many  do  not  add  the  rosin 
at  all.  A good  way  to  prepare  the  wax  is  to  melt  the  beeswax 
and  before  it  has  time  to  cool,  add  the  turpentine.  Caution  is 
necessary  as  both  the  wax  and  the  turpentine  are  very  volatile. 
As  in  the  stain,  the  turpentine  is  merely  the  vehicle  which  enables 
the  wax  to  be  easily  applied.  In  a thin  condition,  it  may  be  laid 
on  evenly  over  the  work  with  a stiff  brush  or  rag.  After  the 
wax  has  been  spread  the  polish  is  obtained  by  friction  and  the 
more  it  is  rubbed,  the  brighter  it  will  be.  This  final  rubbing 
should  be  done  with  a hard,  dry  piece  of  canvas. 
For  most  good  work,  French  polish  is  to  be  preferred  to  all 
other  finishes,  as  finer  results  can  be  obtained  by  it.  It  differs 
from,  varnish  in  that  the  resinous  material  is  applied  with  a rub- 
ber (a  hard  pad  of  cloth)  instead  of  with  a brush.  To  become  a 
good  polisher,  skill  and  practice  are  necessary  as  well  as  knowl- 
edge of  materials. 
Polish  requires  that  the  pores  of  the  wood  be  properly  filled  in 
order  to  get  the  smooth  surface ; fillers  are  used  much  the  same 
as  for  varnish.  After  the  fillers  have  thoroughly  hardened,  the 
laying  on  of  the  polish,  which  is  called  “bodying  in,”  is  begun. 
The  way  in  which  this  is  done  greatly  affects  the  appearance  and 
durability  of  the  gloss.  When  the  body  is  too  thin  the  gloss  soon 
fades  on  account  of  the  material  sinking  into  the  wood  and  when 
the  body  is  too  thick  it  gives  the  finish  the  appearance  of  varnish. 
The  rubber  is  made  of  long  strips  of  cloth  rolled  tightly  and 
bound  with  a string  or  rubber  band ; this  is  put  into  a double 
thickness  of  cloth,  linen  preferable,  the  ends  of  which  are  gathered 
up  and  tied.  This  form  of  a rubber  is  not  very  useful  for  mould- 
ings, but  a similar  wad  can  be  made  more  pointed  for  the  pur- 
pose. Old  rubbers,  if  well  taken  care  of,  are  better  than  new  ones* 
They  should  be  kept  in  an  air  tight  receptacle. 
The  process  of  applying  the  polish  is  somewhat  as  follows : 
The  wad  is  moistened  with  the  polish  and  then  covered  with  a 
cloth  which  is  brought  over  the  end  smoothly,  then  rubbed  briskly 
across  the  grain  to  let  the  surface  fill,  after  which  the  work  is 
gone  over  with  a series  of  circular  movements,  applying  a moder- 
ate pressure,  increasing  a little  as  the  rubber  dries.  In  order  that 
the  rubber  may  pass  smoothly  over  the  work,  a drop  of  raw  linseed 
oil  is  occasionally  added  to  the  face  of  the  rubber.  As  the  rub- 
ber dries,  more  polish  is  added  as  in  the  first  instance.  A little 
polish  will  go  a long  way  and  at  no  time  should  there  be  any- 
thing like  a flow  from  the  rubber.  The  first  bodying  in  should 
be  continued  until  the  wood  will  absorb  no  more,  after  which  the 
rubber  mark  will  still  show  but  gradually  disappear  in  the  finish. 
The  final  operation  in  French  polishing  by  which  the  gloss  is  put 
on  to  the  body  previously  applied  is  known  as  spiriting  off  and 
it  removes  all  kinds  of  marks.  This  process  partakes  very  much 
of  the  nature  of  bodying  in.  It  consists  in  washing  the  bodied 
surface  with  alcohol.  The  surface  is  gradually  reduced  to  a fine 
gloss  with  all  blemishes  removed. 
