The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California

Coloring Finishing And Painting Wood

Polishing with shellac on a lathe is a modified form of French polishing that is often used in school shops. For polishing in the lathe, a "rag" or piece of cloth is substituted for the rubbing-pad which is used on flat surfaces. Cotton-waste is recommended by some teachers, but it is apt to catch and wind up on spindle turnings and is not satisfactory for that reason. A rather stout, smooth cloth that is lintless and torn to a size 2" or 3" wide by 12" to 16" long makes a good "rag," that can be held against a spindle on the lathe with one hand at each end of the cloth, thus securing the proper pressure and avoiding the danger of catching and winding up. The mixture of shellac is similar to that already suggested for French polishing.

The following formula has been found satisfactory:

1 ounce denatured-alcohol white shellac-varnish, 4 to5 ounces denatured alcohol, 1/10 ounce linseed-oil (raw oil preferred).

A number of coats of thin shellac are needed in order to fill the pores of wood properly and build up enough thickness of film to give a good gloss to the wood when the mixture is applied with a "rubbing-rag." Some finishers use a slightly thicker shellac mixture for the first few coats, and a thinner or weaker polishing shellac similar to the formula suggested for the last few coats. From six to ten coats of thin shellac are required in order to furnish a satisfactory finish. In polishing with a shellac rag, the lathe should be run at about its slowest speed, and the cloth, moistened in the middle, should be stretched between the two hands and the shellac applied in this way. The finisher should keep the rubber moving constantly, in order to spread the polish and keep it from piling up in ridges or rings. More of the thin shellac must be placed on the cloth from time to time as the polish is drawn off from the rubbing-rag to the wood. The last operation should be a polishing or "spiriting-off" with 190° proof alcohol alone, on an old polishing-cloth that has some shellac in it from previous use. The cloth should not be soaked with alcohol for the finishing process, or much of the previously-applied film of shellac may be removed. Careful work with a polishing-rag, dampened with alcohol and kept in motion along the piece being polished while the lathe is in motion, will smooth a surface and give it a beautiful gloss. In addition to smoothing the surface, the clear alcohol removes most of the linseed-oil which was mixed with the shellac for the purpose of lubrication. The removal of the oil improves the luster and imparts to the smooth film of shellac a more brilliant gloss.