 |
Dust furniture to minimize abrasive dust, French Polish, Refinish equipment and Computer feet |
 |
|
Information about how to dust furniture to minimize abrasive dust. We continue the French Polishing tutorial. We used some pretty inexpensive furniture refinish equipment that some thought was kind of primitive. Check the feet on your computer if it sits on a good furniture finish. Take a look below for a windier version of this information. |
 Furniture First Aid Kit |
 Liberon White Ring Remover |
 Restor-A-Finish |
 Citristrip Paint & Varnish Stripping Gel |
Glaze Effects Glazing is the application of color over a pre-sealed or non porous surface. Most often associated with paint, ceramics or marble to add interest to an otherwise un-interesting surface.
Dust furniture to minimize abrasive dust
Use a damp cloth first, water not only holds the dust in the cloth, but it acts as a lubricant to keep the abrasive dust from scratching. After the dust is picked up you can wipe and buff with a soft dry cloth. French polish (continued)
Surface preparation for french polish
French polishing can cause you to heave a lot of sighs while you're learning
it, but with practice you can master it nicely and have some exceptionally fine
furniture finishes to your credit. French polish generally won't work on polyurethaneFrench polish generally won't work successfully over polyurethane, acrylic or other finishes of that type, because they have formed a thin sheet of plastic over the wood. Clean with a good furniture cleanerThe existing finish should be cleaned with a good furniture cleaner, such as Prelude furniture cleaner. After cleaning, wet sandAfter cleaning, wet sand lightly with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper with a few drops of water for a lubricant. Keep the residue cleaned as you go so that it doesn't have a chance to dry on the surface and cause you problems. Any residue left will mix with the french polish and make it cloudy. Let new lacquer finish cureIf you plan to french polish over a new lacquer finish, let the lacquer cure for several days before you french polish it. Apply base of shellacApply a good base of shellac over the existing finish. Apply three or four coats of one and a half or two pound cut shellac. More about the cut later. Don't sand until after you've built up the shellac thickness, then sand with 400 grit sandpaper and clean the surface well with a Tack cloth and it's ready for french polishing. French polish as stand alone finish
You can use french polish as a stand alone finish on new work. The surface
will need more preparation than when you use a brush, wipe or spray on finish.
The surface should be glass smooth. Generally the surface will be so smooth
that it won't absorb much stain, so the french polish is best used on wood that
has a nice appearance on its own and only needs a clear finish. Fill open grain, cracks and pitsIf you're working with wood that has an open grain (loads of little elongated pits or cracks)you'll need to fill the grain so the surface is completely smooth. After initially sanding the wood with 180 grit sandpaper you can use a grain filler such as Wunderfil. It's a water base product and easy to use. Mix it with water according to the directions on the can and work it well into the grain of the wood with a cloth. Rub it in across grain, then with the grain, let it dry and sand it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. Working with other woods
If you are working with other woods sand the complete new wood surface with 180
grit sandpaper, then 220 grit, then 400 grit. Wipe the surface with a water
dampened sponge, which will raise little wood hairs, then resand with 400 grit,
then a final sanding with 600 grit sandpaper. If you want to see if you can
add a little contrast to the grain pattern with stain you should use only a
good oil stain and wipe the excess very thoroughly. There are some water base
stains that are formulated to act the same as oil base with good application
properties, but you can generally figure on a few little wood hairs being
raised from the water base, which will mean another sanding with 600 grit,
which could mean sanding off any color that might have been added. Check the date on the can of shellac
If you buy ready mixed liquid shellac check the date on the can. If it isn't
very recently fresh don't buy it or if the date is a code that you can't make
out, don't buy it. If the clerk says that there are new processes or that the
can hasn't been opened so the deterioration hasn't started or any other sales
hype, give him the fish eye and don't buy it. Shellac has a definite shelf
life after it's mixed and as time goes on it will take longer to dry.
Pre-mixed shellac should be thrown out after about a year, because it becomes
unreliable. Refinish equipment
Our refinish equipment was quite primitive
Most of our refinish equipment was thought to be quite primitive by most refinishers,
especially those with flow systems and other such amenities, but our first
thought was what was best for the furniture we worked on, rather than what we
could do to make our lives softer and the least you can do with the least
amount of chemicals to accomplish your goal is best for the furniture. Of
course we made it as soft as we could under those circumstances. Not counting
tools, I think our most expensive refinish equipment was large stainless
steel mixing bowls, 18 inch and 12 inch. The stainless steel was easy to keep
clean and would last for years. Thrift stores for necessary refinish equipmentThrift stores are the best place to find most of the other necessary refinish equipment, like cookie sheets, small metal pails (lots of them with sea shells and shovels in the kids section), brushes of various sorts and anything else that looks like it would work and be handy. If you buy things with painted decoration remove the decoration before you use them so that you don't get paint flecks from your equipment. Be careful with used brushes
The same with brushes, if you buy used paint brushes for
use in removal make sure there aren't any paint flecks in them. Never use used
brushes for final clear finishes, unless you bought it new and then only used
it for clear finishes. If a paint brush has been used for paint, no matter how
well you clean it, there's always one fleck of paint that will end up in the
middle of your new clear finish. Check the feet on your computer equipmentCheck the feet on your computer equipment sitting on your desk, they may need new shoes. Plastic and rubber can damage the finish over a period of time. There are little self stick felt dots of various sizes available at most department stores. Stick the felt pads onto the plastic or rubber feet. You should move your equipment an inch or so once a month so that the feet don't sit in the same place all the time. Turn your computer off before you move itBe sure to turn your computer off before you move it so you don't damage the hard drive.
We're proud to be an affiliate of Blick Art Materials |
 Weather Instrument Kit  Beeswax  Microfiber reusable dry tack cloth  Nitrile industrial gloves | ||||||||
|
Woodcraft catalog  Free Catalogs Woodworking Stain - Finish Kitchen - Tools Lots More
|
