10-11-2011, 04:41 PM
Hi,
You made a lovely job of the box David and veneered it perfectly at your very first attempt. I'm pleased you posted the details and pictures in order to encourage others to have a go. The technique used to veneer the box is exactly the same used to veneer a radio/TV cabinet and once the basics are learned it becomes much easier. I'm looking forward to you re-veneering your first set. Well done with the box; a success story.
I'm pleased to include pictures for you Steve showing what to expect if you decide to go the French polishing (shellac) route. Once the cabinet is prepared ready to accept shellac then four coats can be brushed on per day allowing the shellac to dry out overnight in a warm place.
Two clean jam jars with lids are very useful. One is half filled with meths for washing the brush out the other is half filled with shellac. The lids must be replaced immediately after each use. I've said I make silly mistakes and a classic was to remove the newly applied finish whilst using a rubber; in my eagerness to achieve a mirror finish I lost the plot and ended up charging the rubber with meths as I picked up the wrong jar to charge the rubber with. I'll not make this mistake a second time.
Once sufficient thickness has been built up then it is carefully flatted ensuring not to cut through to bare wood. If in doubt apply more brush coats; I apply a minimum of eight brush coats and even more if I feel the thickness might flat through. This is not a job to rush and a couple of extra days won't be wasted.
The first picture shows the brush applied coats looking very rough and I've had brush applied coats of shellac look a lot worse than this. The second picture shows flatting in progress and clearly highlights the brush marks and the final picture shows the surface after flatting and looking much better. Once this stage is reached the hard work is almost over. I now use Talcum powder as a lubricant whilst flatting but this can be a problem if the grain is not filled as the talc needs completely removing after flatting or it will show up white in the finish. A dry artists brush is ideal for removing talc from corners etc.
Kind regards, Col.
You made a lovely job of the box David and veneered it perfectly at your very first attempt. I'm pleased you posted the details and pictures in order to encourage others to have a go. The technique used to veneer the box is exactly the same used to veneer a radio/TV cabinet and once the basics are learned it becomes much easier. I'm looking forward to you re-veneering your first set. Well done with the box; a success story.
I'm pleased to include pictures for you Steve showing what to expect if you decide to go the French polishing (shellac) route. Once the cabinet is prepared ready to accept shellac then four coats can be brushed on per day allowing the shellac to dry out overnight in a warm place.
Two clean jam jars with lids are very useful. One is half filled with meths for washing the brush out the other is half filled with shellac. The lids must be replaced immediately after each use. I've said I make silly mistakes and a classic was to remove the newly applied finish whilst using a rubber; in my eagerness to achieve a mirror finish I lost the plot and ended up charging the rubber with meths as I picked up the wrong jar to charge the rubber with. I'll not make this mistake a second time.
Once sufficient thickness has been built up then it is carefully flatted ensuring not to cut through to bare wood. If in doubt apply more brush coats; I apply a minimum of eight brush coats and even more if I feel the thickness might flat through. This is not a job to rush and a couple of extra days won't be wasted.
The first picture shows the brush applied coats looking very rough and I've had brush applied coats of shellac look a lot worse than this. The second picture shows flatting in progress and clearly highlights the brush marks and the final picture shows the surface after flatting and looking much better. Once this stage is reached the hard work is almost over. I now use Talcum powder as a lubricant whilst flatting but this can be a problem if the grain is not filled as the talc needs completely removing after flatting or it will show up white in the finish. A dry artists brush is ideal for removing talc from corners etc.
Kind regards, Col.
Happiness is a wreck of a cabinet to restore.
