French Polisher's Manual

[hank]

Thanks Mike, Any Idea about the S E F X letters woven together on the cover. Publishers perhaps? Dragons blood sounds very multipurpose, eh? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon's_blood

[Mike Black]

Thanks Mike, Any Idea about the S E F X letters woven together on the cover. Publishers perhaps?

Hank,
I have no idea what the letters stand for on the cover. I see two letters clearly. N & S. There could be an E & F in there too. If so, the cover has the London publisher as E. & F. N. SPON, Ltd.

[hank]

The X is an N that's the ticket. Way cool script.

[Schlegel]

Those of you who might want dragon's blood, lumps of the resin can be bought easily from incense suppliers. That and copal, they are both used for incense and in finishing.

[Schlegel]

The same is true of Benzoin, now that I think of it.

[woodwiz]

That's an interesting booklet, but it has mainly academic interest, rather than practical. A lot of the recommendations have been found to be counterproductive. The use of linseed oil, especially. It has its uses, but even when it is fully cured, its glass transition point is way below room temperature, and it collects dirt like a magnet, and also darkens greatly with age. I've seen old furniture finished with linseed oil that was literally black.

I think most of the resins and dyes mentioned are available from a lot of suppliers like Kremer and Natural Pigments. We use a lot of them in violin varnishes. Red and white lead are very toxic, and have to be used with great care against inhalation or ingestion.

Modern abrasives and abrasive techniques work a lot better than the old ones. I grew up with a lot of the old techniques.

There are plenty of pretty good "how-to"s on French polishing, some already referenced on this forum, IIRC, that show you how to do an effective, durable French polish with a lot less problems and effort.

I think French polishing is a great finishing technique. I use variations of it about every week. It doesn't have to be nearly so complicated. FWIW, I used to do things like match maple benches, color and grain, to mahogany pianos for a living.

[Mike Black]

That's an interesting booklet, but it has mainly academic interest, rather than practical.

I totally agree, and that's all the intent of posting it was. I just hoped that people would enjoy the historical read.

[Bill Halsey]

Very enjoyable, indeed. The historical aspect brought forward can certainly add perspective in solving some of the problems met with in restorative work. "Henley's Formulas" (c. 1907) might be a good companion volume, helpful in identifying uses for archaic and dated terms and materials in this and similar studies.

Thanks for making this piece available, Mike.