THE 
 
 : 
 
 FRENCH POLISHER’S 
 MANUAL 
 
 BY 
 
 A FRENCH POLISHER 
 
 HonKon; 
 
 E. & F. N. SPON,- 125 STRAND 
 potft: 
 
 SPON & CHAMBERLAIN, 12 CORTLANDT STREET 
 1896 
 
 Price Sixpence 
 
 —~ -i s fr . 
 
THE 
 
 FRENCH POLISHER S 
 MANUAL 
 
 BY 
 
 A FRENCH POLISHER 
 
 HonKon: 
 
 E. & F. N. SPON, 125 STRAND 
 ifteto |)orfe: 
 
 SPON & CHAMBERLAIN, 12 CORTLANDT STREET 
 
 1896 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 French Polishing is the name given to the art of 
 coating wood with a fine smooth glossy surface or 
 varnish of shellac and various other gums, which are 
 easily soluble in spirits of wine, methylated spirits, or 
 wood naphtha. A varnish is thus produced, but if it 
 is applied simply with a brush, as copal, mastic, and 
 most other varnishes are applied, the result is a very 
 broken and uneven surface instead of a smooth and 
 continuous polish. To obtain a good polish with a 
 lac varnish on wood it is necessary to apply a very 
 small quantity at once, and to rub it continuously 
 until it dries; when this process has been carefully 
 and properly gone through, the result is a beautiful 
 and even surface, which is not to be surpassed or 
 even equalled by any other means. 
 
 Previous to its being used in this country, the 
 method of polishing furniture consisted in rubbing it 
 repeatedly with a composition formed of beeswax and 
 turpentine. But the tedious repetition of labour, to¬ 
 gether with the general unsatisfactory results of that 
 process, probably induced the inventive French to 
 abandon it, and by way of substitution to test the 
 gloss-imparting qualities of a solution of shellac in 
 alcohol: the substitute proved successful, and is now 
 universally adopted. 
 
 b 2 
 
IV 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 On its first introduction into England it found but 
 little favour and met with but little success, as it was 
 deemed a frivolous and simple operation, which any¬ 
 one could perform, and moreover had the reputation 
 of not being durable; but its sterling merits as the 
 best of polishes have silenced all opposition, and it is 
 now acknowledged by the most skilful artisans and 
 qualified connoisseurs to be a process of such excel¬ 
 lence as to be unsurpassed. 
 
 Although the operation is apparently simple enough, 
 yet great care and considerable practice are required 
 to produce a satisfactory result. 
 
 The information contained in the following pages has 
 been written expressly to facilitate the acquisition of a 
 thorough knowledge of the processes which are need¬ 
 ful for the production of the various tones which 
 render the poorer sorts of material similar in appear¬ 
 ance to those of the richer kinds. It is also designed 
 to teach the various modes of chemical operation by 
 which the natural beauties of both rich and poor 
 materials can be effectively and completely developed. 
 
 The author hopes this little treatise, which is the 
 result of many years of professional experience, will 
 prove useful to the apprentice and to the amateur: 
 he would advise the latter to commence operations 
 by trying his hand at a few small articles; by so doing 
 he will gain some experience which will enable him to 
 understand the directions given much better than if 
 he were to commence with large work. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 -— 0O »-- 
 
 VAft'fi 
 
 Wood Staining •«> n •• •• »• •• «• •• •• 7 
 
 Washing •• «• «? •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• 7 
 
 Matching. 8 
 
 Improving. 10 
 
 Painting. 11 
 
 Imitations. 12 
 
 Directions for Staining .15 
 
 Sizing and Embodying. 16 
 
 Smoothing. 19 
 
 Spirit Varnishing .. .. . .. 21 
 
 French Polishing.. .. ‘23 
 
 Directions for Repolisiiing. .. .. 26 
 
 General Remarks and Useful Receipts .. .. 27 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 F 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
THE 
 
 FRENCH POLISHER’S MANUAL. 
 
 WOOD STAINING. 
 
 The art of “ grounding ” and “ engraining,” i. e. im¬ 
 parting various ground shades and fibril figures to 
 wooden surfaces, is both chemical and mechanical. 
 
 Staining was formerly subdivided into four parts, 
 namely, “ washing,” “ matching,” “ imitating,” and 
 “painting” ; but modern stainers have recently added 
 a fifth part, which they term “ improving.” 
 
 WASHING 
 
 Consists in coating common white deal or fir with a 
 dilute aqueous solution of clear glue, suitably tinted 
 with a proper combination of two or more of the cheap 
 colouring materials. 
 
 For a mahogany colour: one part red lead, or 
 Venetian red, with two parts yellow lead, chrome, or 
 ochre. 
 
 For the antique hues of old wainscot oak : equal 
 parts of burnt umber and brown ochre. 
 
 For the shades of rosewood: Venetian red, tinted 
 with lampblack. 
 
 For ebony: ivory black. 
 
 For the tones of light yellowish woods : whiting or 
 white lead, tinted with orange chrome. 
 
8 THE FRENCH POLISHER’S MANUAL. 
 
 For walnut: burnt umber, modified with yellow 
 
 ochre. 
 
 Wash-colour should always be applied in a warm 
 state, by means of a flannel; and the coloured - wood 
 ought to be evenly wiped dry with shavings or rags. 
 
 MATCHING 
 
 Is the rendering of different pieces of wood, in an 
 article of furniture, to a uniform colour, so that 
 they may represent the appearance of one entire 
 piece. To perform a task of this kind successfully, I 
 sometimes treat the various portions in the following 
 manner :—I first bleach the darkest parts, by carefully 
 coating them with a strong solution of oxalic acid in 
 hot water, to which is added a few drops of spirit of 
 nitre. When the blanched parts become dry, I coat 
 them two or three times with white polish, by means 
 of a camel-hair pencil. This process, however, does 
 not always prove satisfactory, so I frequently lay on 
 a delicate coat of white stain, and another of white 
 varnish; I then give the intermediate dark parts a 
 coat of common varnish ; and proceed to oil all the 
 untouched white portions ; next, to compare the 
 whole, and when the white pieces happen to be much 
 lighter than the dark ones, I immediately render them 
 of the exact hue, by coating them with a darkening 
 stain. 
 
 The “ darkeners ” in general use are logwood, lime, 
 brown soft soap, dyed oil, aquafortis, sulphate of iron, 
 nitrate of silver, with exposure to the sun rays, car¬ 
 bonate of soda, bichromate of potash, and many more 
 preparations of an acidulous or alkaline nature. Of 
 these “ darkeners ” the two last-mentioned are the most 
 preferable; and here are the best modes of preparing 
 
MATCHING. 
 
 9 
 
 and using either of them:—Procure an ounce of one 
 ot these alkalies, powder and dissolve it in two gills 
 of boiling water; next, get three bottles, label them 
 1, 2, 3, or, weak, medium, strong; put one-half of the 
 solution into No. 3, and half a gill into No. 2, and the 
 same into No. 1; then pour an additional gill of clean 
 water into No. 2, and two gills of the same into No. 1. 
 By dissolving both alkalies separately, in the manner 
 described, you will have six liquids capable of staining 
 nearly all kinds of wood of a complete variety of 
 brown and dark tints. 
 
 The solutions of carbonate are generally used for 
 dark materials, like rosewood, and those of the bi¬ 
 chromate are applicable to all the intermediate and 
 white woods, such as mahogany, oak, beech, &c. 
 
 Here is the safest mode of using these alkaline 
 fluids:—Pour a sufficient quantity into a teacup or 
 saucer, into which dip a sponge or a flannel, saturate it 
 thoroughly, then rub evenly over the wood, aud ter¬ 
 minate by instantly drying off the stained surface with 
 a handful of rags or other soft waste, remembering all 
 the while that, to ensure success, you must follow out 
 this manipulation with the greatest carefulness and the 
 utmost dispatch. 
 
 When the dark and light portions are neither very 
 black nor very white, I commonly varnish the former, 
 and allow the latter to stand in oil for a time; by this 
 last means I easily match the different portions of my 
 work, without having recourse to either blanching or 
 staining. 
 
 IMPROVING. 
 
 An aqueous decoction of barberry root, or an 
 alcoholic solution of gamboge or turmeric, will, when 
 judiciously applied, impart a pleasing yellow hue. Oily 
 decoctions of alkanet root, and alcoholic solutions of 
 
 B 3 
 
10 THE FRENCH POLISHER’S MANUAL. 
 
 Bismark brown, yield rich mild reds. Rectified naphtha, 
 that has been dyed with camwood dust, serves for 
 another reddening tincture. Lightest hardwood, such 
 as birch, is frequently improved in colour by being 
 sponged with oil, slightly tinted with rose madder, or 
 Venetian red. When these tinctures are used in 
 moderation, they invariably improve the appearance of 
 the grain, and brighten the general tone of ground, 
 so peculiar to many kinds of wood; but few men of 
 any taste whatever will admire a deep red dye upon 
 fine wood. 
 
 A solution of asphaltum, in spirit of turpentine, 
 makes a good brown stain for coarse oaken work, 
 which is only intended to be varnished with boiled oil. 
 When discoloured ebony has been sponged once or 
 twice with a strong decoction of gall-nuts, to which a 
 quantity of steel dust has been added, its natural 
 blackness becomes more intense. The naturally pale 
 ground and obscure grain of Honduras mahogany is 
 often well brought out by its being coated first with 
 spirits of hartshorn, and then with red oil. Greyish 
 maple may be whitened by the process already de¬ 
 scribed in matching. Half a gallon of water, in which 
 half a pound of oak bark and the same quantity of 
 walnut shells or peels have been thoroughly boiled, 
 makes an excellent improver of inferior rosewood; it 
 is also far before any other of its kind for bringing out 
 to perfection the veiny figures and ground shades of 
 walnut. Raw oil, mixed with a little spirit of tur¬ 
 pentine, is universally allowed to be the most efficacious 
 improver of the greater number of materials. Beautiful 
 artificial graining may be imparted to various speci¬ 
 mens of timber, by means of a camel-hair pencil, with 
 raw oil alone ; that is, certain portions may be coated 
 two or three times very tastefully, so as to resemble the 
 
painting. 
 
 11 
 
 rich varying veins which constitute the fibril fio- ures • 
 while the common plain parts, which constitute the 
 giound shades, may only be once coated with the oil 
 very much diluted with spirit of turpentine. 
 
 PAINTING 
 
 Is rarely employed with satisfaction; but it fre¬ 
 quently happens that the polisher makes slight 
 omissions in colouring and staining, which he does 
 not readily perceive until the varnishing or polishing 
 is nearly finished, and in such cases he must eithe? 
 use paint or do his work over again. A box contain¬ 
 ing the following colours will therefore prove of great 
 utility Drop black, raw and burnt umber, Vandyke 
 brown, French Naples yellow, cadmium yellow, mad¬ 
 der carmine, flake white, and light red. These pig¬ 
 ments should be finely pounded, and, when required, 
 they are to be consistently mixed with thin “ slake.” 
 The objections to painting are that it obscures the 
 natural beauty of the wood, and when, by the effects 
 of time, the properly-stained portions become of a 
 very dark colour, the painted parts invariably retain 
 their artificial hues. Instead of covering the im 
 perfect parts, by an immoderate use of pigments I 
 often tinge them with dyed polishes and varnishes • 
 and these preparations can be stained black, with 
 logwood, gall-nuts, and copperas; red, with alkanet 
 roots, or camwood dust; yellow, with turmeric, or 
 gamboge; and brown, with carbonate of soda, and a 
 very small quantity of Bismark brown. 
 
12 
 
 THE FRENCH POLISHER’S MANUAL. 
 
 IMITATIONS. 
 
 When curly-veined birch and beecb have been 
 regularly brushed with aquafortis, and dried at the 
 tire, they both look remarkably like mahogany. A 
 decoction of logwood and fustic, when put on in a 
 tepid state, produces a similar effect. 
 
 The common Trench mode of effecting an exact 
 representation of the colour of mahogany is as fol¬ 
 lows First, the white timber is brushed with a dilute 
 solution of nitrous acid ; secondly, it is coated once or 
 twice with finishing spirit, in which a quantity of car¬ 
 bonate of soda and Bismark brown have been dissolved 
 (the proper proportions to one gill of spirit being three- 
 fourths of an ounce of the soda and a quarter of an 
 ounce of the brown); the wood is afterwards finished 
 with varnish or polish of a reddish-brown tint. In 
 producing this shade of colour, London artisans fre¬ 
 quently use a rich brownish-red kind of chalk, the 
 colour of which is similiar to that of fine Hispaniola 
 mahogany. It is commonly applied in the form of a 
 dry powder by means of a brush, and then well rubbed 
 with another brush or coarse flannel. 
 
 Ingenious stainers can make American ash resemble 
 oak wainscot, both in vein and shade, so correctly, as 
 to baffle the most experienced connoisseurs in distin¬ 
 guishing the genuine from the spurious. Some make 
 a commencement by sketching out, upon certain parts 
 of the ashen exterior, the requisite w r hite veins, by 
 means oi a camel-hair pencil, with white stain ; that 
 done, they coat the veins with thin varnish, and then 
 darken the general ground, dealing carefully through¬ 
 out the entire process with the veined portions. 
 Others stain and embody, i. e. French polish the ash 
 
IMITATIONS. 
 
 13 
 
 with the ordinary preparation, after which they pursue 
 an operative course termed “ champing ”; that is, 
 scrrtching fancifully, so as to form the veins, upon 
 different parts of the coated surface, before it gets 
 time to harden, with a saturated rag. The former 
 process is, however, the most suitable of the two. 
 
 The best mode of producing a representation of oak 
 wainscot upon white materials like beech and fir, 
 consists as follows:—A coat of Stephen’s satinwood 
 stain is regularly laid on, then a soft graining comb is 
 gently drawn along the stained space, and when the 
 streaks are all correctly produced, the veins are formed 
 with white stain. This last colouring stuff is made 
 by digesting three-quarters of an ounce of pearl white 
 (subnitrate of bismuth), and an ounce of isinglass, both 
 of which are sold by the druggist, in two gills of boil¬ 
 ing water. The tone of this stain may be modified by 
 being diluted with water, or tinted with other stains. 
 
 Showy elmwood, after being delicately darkened, 
 passes in appearance for Italian walnut. 
 
 A single coat of No. 3 chromate of potash solution, 
 as previously mentioned, will cause highly-coloured 
 and wildly-figured mahogany to resemble rich rose¬ 
 wood so exactly that the best judges may be deceived 
 by it. . 
 
 To imitate the lively contour and rich ground of 
 rosewood upon inferior white wood, you must produce 
 the ground shade by sponging with a decoction of 
 Braziletto, or Brazilwood, and the fibril veins by 
 brushing partially and judiciously with black liquor, 
 which is prepared by boiling logwood chips, sulphate 
 of iron, and steel filings, in equally proportioned 
 quantities of vinegar and water. Sometimes a graining 
 comb is passed over the ground shade longitudinally, and, 
 with a slight vibratory motion, so as to effect natural¬ 
 looking streaks, previous to the pencilling or veining. 
 
14 THE FRENCH POLISHER’S MANUAL. 
 
 The appearance of ebony may be given to any 
 species of wood, by the application of three distinct 
 coats of black liquor; and after being smoothed, the 
 counterfeit ebony may be embodied with white polish; 
 this greatly helps to preserve the transparent density 
 of the dyed material. 
 
 Of the several compositions and imitative prepara¬ 
 tions that are sold ready-made, the oak, mahogany, 
 satinwood, rosewood, and ebony powders, sold by Mr. 
 Henry Stephens, 18, St. Martin’s-le-Grand, London, 
 are unquestionably the most superior. They are all 
 soluble in boiling water, and are much employed for 
 various kinds of joinery, as they form good sub¬ 
 stitutes for expensive oil paints. Notwithstanding 
 their superiority, the virtues of these dye stuffs may 
 be very much enhanced by the addition of a mordant 
 that is capable of modifying and fastening the tints 
 and shades which they impart. I have successfully 
 employed the following mordants :—Spirit of nitre for 
 the satinwood stain; a powerful solution of oxalic 
 acid for the oak; dilute nitrous acid for the ma¬ 
 hogany, and No. 3 carbonate solution for the rosewood 
 stains. 
 
 Equal proportions of Stephen’s oak stain, and No. 2 
 bichromate solution, constitute a perfect dye stuff, 
 which, when skilfully applied, causes lively-figured 
 beech, birch, or fir, to bear a striking resemblance to 
 dark walnut. By the substitution of aquafortis for 
 the potash, white timber may be converted in counter¬ 
 feit walnut also, or a mixture composed of similar 
 parts of the acid and alkali, without the oak stain, 
 will answer the same purpose much better, especially 
 if it is to be applied upon American fir. 
 
DIRECTIONS FOR STAINING. 
 
 15 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR STAINING. 
 
 There is no fixed principle upon which certain 
 peculiar tints or shades can be produced, owing, in a 
 great degree, to the natural qualities of wood being so 
 very numerous and variable. The stainer is therefore 
 merely recommended to adhere as much as he possibly 
 can to the following rules :—In preparing any of the 
 tinctures already named, it is of some importance to 
 powder or mash all the dry stuffs, previous to dis¬ 
 solving or macerating them, and to purify all the 
 liquids, by filtration, before use. Their colouring 
 powers, which mainly depend on very accurate com¬ 
 binations of the requisite ingredients, should always 
 be carefully tested before a free use be made of them, 
 and the absorbent properties of tbe materials intended 
 to be stained should be tested. 
 
 It will be better for experienced hands to coat two 
 or three times with a weak stain, than only once with 
 a very strong one, as, by the adoption of the first 
 mode, a particular tint may be gradually effected, 
 whereas, by pursuing tbe latter course, an irremediable 
 discoloration may perhaps prove the consequence. 
 
 Coarse pieces of carving, spongy end, and cross- 
 grained woods, should be previously prepared for 
 the reception of stain; this is best done by putting 
 on a thin layer of varnish, letting it dry, and then glass- 
 papering it completely off again. Fine work merely 
 requires to be oiled and slightly rubbed with the 
 finest glass-paper. Thus prepared, the woody fibre 
 is enabled to take on the stain more regularly, and to 
 retain a high degree of smoothness. 
 
 When stain is put on with a flat hog-hair tool, it is 
 improved by a skilful but moderate application of a 
 badger-hair softener. The steel comb is chiefly era* 
 
16 
 
 THE FRENCH POLISHER’S MANUAL. 
 
 ployed for streaking artificial oak, and the mottler is 
 used for variegating and uniting the shades and tints 
 of mahogany. Flannels and sponges are often worked 
 with instead of brushes, but the implements most 
 serviceable for veining or engraining purposes are 
 small badger sash-tools and sable pencils. 
 
 The effect produced by a coat of stain cannot be 
 accurately ascertained until it has been allowed suffi¬ 
 cient time for drying, and this allowance is most 
 conducive to the development of nearly all external 
 coatings. 
 
 SIZING AND EMBODYING. 
 
 The processes and manipulations of “ pore-closing,” 
 and “ hole-filling,” which are soon acquired by a little 
 attention and practice, cannot be too highly recom¬ 
 mended to the polisher’s notice as being most essen¬ 
 tial to the speedy development of a clear, smooth, 
 imporous ground, which is the main object to be 
 studied in French polishing. 
 
 It is found that plaster of Paris, when converted 
 into a creamy paste, with water, proves a most valu¬ 
 able pore-filling material. It is to be rubbed, by 
 means of a coarse rag, across the woody fibre, into 
 the holes and pores, till they be completely satu¬ 
 rated, and then the superfluous stucco on the outside 
 is to be instantly wiped off. The succeeding pro¬ 
 cesses are technically termed papering, oiling, and 
 embodying. 
 
 When finely-pounded whiting is properly slaked 
 with painters’ drying oil, it forms another stuff and 
 labour-saving pore-filler. It is applied in the same 
 manner as the preceding one, and it is recommended 
 on account of its quickly-hardening and tenacious 
 
SIZING AND EMBODYING. 
 
 17 
 
 virtues as a cement. Sometimes white lead is used 
 ' in lieu of the whiting. 
 
 Before using either of these or other compositions 
 for the same purpose, I generally tint them to corre¬ 
 spond exactly with the colour of the article I intend 
 to size. 
 
 Holes and crevices may be well filled up with a 
 cement that is made by melting beeswax in combina¬ 
 tion with resin and shellac. 
 
 A few expert artisans, who regard their modes 
 of pore-filling as important secrets, do their work 
 wonderfully quick, on one or other of the principles 
 here described :— 
 
 1. After oiling, &c., they proceed to embody, keep¬ 
 ing their rubbers in a sappy condition with thin polish, 
 and taking special care to use no oil during this first 
 stage of the polishing, which continues until all the 
 pores are well closed. After having allowed their 
 work sufficient time to harden, they smooth it with 
 fine glass-paper, and embody it a second time with 
 thicker polish, or a mixture of polish and varnish, 
 causing their rubbers to work easily with half of the 
 quantity of oil which is customarily employed. They 
 afterwards rub this second body very smooth with 
 moist putty. 
 
 2. Common work is first sized, then embodied, and 
 then varnished; next, the outer coating is properly 
 smoothed, after which the work merely requires a few 
 rubberfuls of polish to make it ready for spiriting, i. e. 
 finishing. 
 
 3. I have often succeeded in filling some of the 
 most spongy textures in this manner:—I wash them 
 thoroughly, rubbing crosswise, with a sponge satu¬ 
 rated with polish, till it becomes dry ; then smoothing 
 ensues; after which I proceed to embody them, em¬ 
 ploying stucco in the first embodying, and pumicestone 
 
18 
 
 THE FRENCH POLISHER’S MANUAL. 
 
 in the second one. The mode of using either of these 
 pounded substances, is to shake a few grains on the 
 sole of the rubber when it is newly moistened with 
 polish, then to cover the rubber with a fine linen rag, 
 and to ply it in the ordinary way, observing, however, 
 to put as little pressure upon it as possible. The 
 stucco thus applied tends to fill up the pores and to 
 harden the body of polish on the exterior; while the 
 pumicestone gradually diminishes all manner of rough¬ 
 ness, and also helps to fill up the pores. Too much 
 of the former should not be used, as it is apt to im¬ 
 part a semi-opaque appearance, and too much of the 
 latter has a tendency to scratch the polished sur¬ 
 face. 
 
 4. Comparatively few polishers have acquired so 
 great a proficiency in the practice of the trade as to 
 polish wood without altering, in a certain degree, its 
 natural colour. Here is an expensive system upon 
 which any rich porous material, such as Italian walnut, 
 can be made to take on a transparent gloss that will 
 remain permanent for many years, and to retain the 
 same tone of colour after it is finished as it did before 
 it was touched with any polishing liquid. The walnut 
 receives a well-spread layer of refined glue, and after 
 being permitted to become hard, the entire outer body 
 of the glue is completely removed by the mechanical 
 application of a steel scraper and glass-paper. Next, 
 the woody fibre is twice embodied with white polish, 
 and cleaned with scraper, &c. Lastly, proper sinking 
 periods, smoothings with pumicestone, and slight em- 
 bodyings with white polish, alternately succeed each 
 other till the article is ready for the spiriting process. 
 
 In order to facilitate the necessary friction, a little 
 purified grease ought to be used on the sole of the 
 rubber instead of oil. The latter should never be em¬ 
 ployed for the polishing of an article that is only inlaid 
 
SMOOTHING. 
 
 19 
 
 with walnut veneers, as, owing to their extreme thin¬ 
 ness and porosity, the oil freely penetrates through to 
 the ground wood, softening the glue, and causing the 
 veneers to rise in blisters. 
 
 The gluey coating, which must be of precisely the 
 same hue as the walnut, is seldom required for close- 
 grained wood, like ebony and maple. 
 
 Superficial size is a transparent paste, which is 
 suffered to remain on the exterior of large pieces of 
 joinery and inferior cabinet articles that have been 
 previously stained, and are merely to be varnished. 
 It is sold by H. Stevens, London. 
 
 SMOOTHING. 
 
 There are numerous compounds and substances 
 chosen for smoothing down the rough surface of 
 coated woodwork; but in place of encumbering the 
 present space with a long list of their names, I shall 
 only specify the best materials, and give a brief ex¬ 
 planation of the modes of applying them. 
 
 The outside face of bare woodwork simply requires 
 to be papered, i. e. scoured with glass-paper, which is 
 graduated in point of degree from No. 0 fine, to No. 3 
 coarse. 
 
 The operation of smoothing is admitted to be a 
 most important branch of the art here treated of, for 
 the obvious reason that, when it is judiciously con¬ 
 ducted, it is ultimately found to contribute to two 
 very desirable ends, namely, “ full pores ” and “ smooth 
 surfaces.” 
 
 The roughness so peculiar to first coatings of varnish 
 is nicely refined by being rubbed with No. 1 paper. 
 Where the work is extremely coarse it ought to be 
 freely moistened with oil first, and then papered; 
 under this treatment a thin paste is formed by the 
 
20 
 
 THE FRENCH POLISHER’S MANUAL. 
 
 attrition, which not only reduces the grossness more 
 effectually, but materially assists in filling up the open 
 pores. 
 
 The process of refining second coatings, or more 
 advanced bodies, is effected by rubbing them with a 
 flannel thoroughly smeared with a paste formed of 
 water and pulverized pumicestone. 
 
 Finely-pounded whiting, slaked with either oil or 
 water, makes an excellent paste for refining bodies 
 that are well advanced towards finishing. 
 
 Unctuous rust or incrustation is removed from the 
 face of old bodies of polish, &c., by friction, with a 
 flannel smeared with a paste of Bath-brick dust and 
 water. A strong lye of potash is frequently used for 
 the same purpose; but I have discovered that the 
 quickest and most effectual method of removing rust, 
 is to scour it with pure spirit of turpentine; by this 
 means the polish is preserved unsullied. Turpentine 
 is also capable of neutralizing bodies of beeswax, &c. 
 
 When unadulterated spirit of wine is used in a tepid 
 state, it washes off old coatings of French polish, spirit 
 varnish, and lacquer. 
 
 Directions. 
 
 Let it be kept in remembrance that no job ought to 
 be finished in the polishing, immediately after it has 
 been smoothed, because the scratches occasioned by 
 the use of glass-paper, or any of the pastes here 
 specified, though imperceptible when the work is 
 newly finished, become, in a short time afterwards, 
 plainly discernible, causing the gloss to present an 
 imperfect exterior. 
 
 Flat-surface work requires to be papered with a 
 cork rubber, which is generally plied in the longitu¬ 
 dinal direction of the grain. 
 
SPIRIT VARNISHING. 
 
 21 
 
 In smoothing first coatings, and the more advanced 
 bodies, rub the former transversely, and the latter 
 circularly. Bub lightly and regularly ; avoid cracking 
 or scratching the outer face; and carefully deal with 
 the edges and corners (of stained wood especially), as, 
 by defacing or discolouring them, you will absolutely 
 spoil the appearance of the work. 
 
 In the outset, the grain of ash, birch, or oak, can be 
 mostly prevented from rising by sponging it with 
 water, letting it dry, papering it, and at the commence¬ 
 ment of the polishing process, by using the rubber 
 only slightly moistened with thick polish or varnish, 
 without oil, till the wood acquires a thin smooth skin; 
 roughness can likewise be much avoided by strictly 
 enforcing all the rules that are likely to promote 
 cleanliness. 
 
 SPIRIT VARNISHING. 
 
 The brushes employed for this operation are the 
 flat camel-hair ones. They vary in point of breadth 
 from a quarter of an inch to four inches and upwards. 
 The finest small white bristle tools and red sable 
 pencils are found to be very serviceable for coating the 
 delicately-shaped members, and the somewhat inac* 
 cessible cavities of turned and carved work. The waj 
 to preserve their elasticity is to rinse their hairy ends 
 (after use) in finishing spirit; the spirit is then to be 
 gently pressed out by passing the hair between the 
 finger and thumb. After being cleaned, the brushes 
 should be placed so as to hang perpendicularly, or to 
 rest laterally within a dry air-proof vessel. Where 
 these preservative principles have been neglected, the 
 hardened brushes require to be soaked in the varnish 
 for an hour or so, or if wanted for immediate use they 
 can be softened in a few minutes by being steeped ic 
 
22 
 
 THE FRENCH POLISHER’S MANUAL. 
 
 lukewarm methylated finish. For several descriptions 
 of fancy work, I prefer good Turkey sponges, as they 
 are capable of spreading either stain or varnish more 
 evenly than the camel tools. 
 
 The next thing worthy of notice is the varnish dish, 
 which ought to be a substantial earthen vessel, similar 
 in size and shape to a small tea-saucer, but rather 
 deeper, having two or three notches in its upper edge, 
 to fit the handles of the brushes, the hairy ends of 
 which should be kept lying on their sides—and not 
 resting on their extreme points, as is commonly the 
 case—while in the dish. The vessel should also have 
 a “regulator” and a lid; the former consists of a piece 
 of wire placed centrally across the mouth of the dish, 
 and firmly fastened at both extremities; it is useful in 
 regulating the proper quantity of stuff required in the 
 coating tool at each dipping. A closely-fitting lid, 
 when on, serves to keep the varnish free from dust, 
 and other destructive agents, arising from constant 
 exposure to the atmospheric air. 
 
 Exiles. 
 
 Instantly after dipping, the brush or sponge is once 
 or twice gently passed over the regulator; this prevents 
 the tools from transferring an unnecessary quantity of 
 polish to the work in operation. In merely putting 
 on the first and second coats, the tool may be worked 
 across the grain; but in finishing, it must be worked 
 along the grain, and in either case the varnish must 
 be equally and evenly laid on. In either sponging or 
 brushing, the implement ought to be freely and lightly 
 handled; it should also be plied with some degree of 
 speed, as the varnishes of spirits have not the slow- 
 setting properties which distinguish those of oil. 
 Care should be taken to touch one part only once at 
 
FRENCH POLISHING. 
 
 23 
 
 a time, as by going over the same space twice, it is 
 always rough on becoming dry. The most experienced 
 varnishers maintain that it is best to make a sleek 
 ground with a rubberful of French polish, always 
 before the application of spirit varnish; and that it is 
 equally important to dry the rubber thoroughly, leaving 
 no degree of unctuousness upon the thin superstratum, 
 previous to the laying on of a coat of finishing varnish. 
 They unanimously assert too, that it is of the utmost 
 consequence in the production of a faultless gloss, to 
 permit the last pellicle of polish to get an hour’s rest 
 before it receives a coat of fine varnish, and also to lec 
 the coating of slake “ stand ” for two hours prior to its 
 being finally smoothed with a damp rubber. 
 
 FRENCH POLISHING. 
 
 Situations. —The ordinary difficulties attending 
 the polishing of a fine article, which requires to be 
 particularly well done, may be much lessened by 
 having its various parts placed in an accessible position 
 while it is being polished. The polishing shop should 
 be a cleanly kept and commodious room, having good 
 perpendicular windows, near each of which a bench 
 ought to be situated. The most suitable benches— 
 the tops of which are generally covered with thick soft 
 cloths—are those measuring about six feet by three; 
 and from three feet six inches to four feet in height. 
 They must stand unfastened, so as to be removable at 
 any time, in order to answer the different temporary 
 positions in which the jobs require to be put. Before 
 commencing to polish, I commonly place my work 
 horizontally upon the bench, or upon a pair of pads on 
 the floor, and I keep my face directly opposite the 
 window while working. When, however, a perpen¬ 
 dicularly-shaped specimen of cabinet ware, that re- 
 
24 
 
 THE FRENCH POLISHER S MANUAL. 
 
 quires to be operated upon in its erect attitude, comes 
 under my treatment, I place it upon the bench, letting 
 it rest on its feet or base, and while working, I stand 
 between the bench and the window, keeping my back 
 towards the latter. 
 
 Rubbers. —The small pliable rubbers employed for 
 doing carved framework, &c., are usually made of 
 white wadding, and the large round ones used for 
 surface work are mostly formed of soft flannel. The 
 latter kind must be firmly made; and the more they 
 possess such qualifications as proper size and solidity, 
 the more quickly and satisfactorily will they polish 
 extensive surfaces. 
 
 Rags. —Fine linen makes the best rubber coverings 
 and spiriting cloths, but cheap cotton will answer 
 nearly as well. Both stuffs are preferred after having 
 been used and washed several times. The way to 
 wash them is, to boil them first in a strong lye of 
 potash, and then in a weak one of soap powder, suffer¬ 
 ing each boiling to be succeeded by a thorough rinsing 
 in clean water. 
 
 Wettings. —Some workmen wet the soles of their 
 rubbers, by dipping into a saucer containing the pre¬ 
 paration, and others by holding their bottles upside 
 down, allowing the polish to shower through the 
 drilled punctures of the stopples. Care should be 
 taken not to soak the rubber too much by either 
 means; and after wetting and covering, the sole ought 
 always to be pressed forcibly upon the palm of the 
 hand so as to equalize the moisture. 
 
 Rubbings.— Invariably on beginning with a newly- 
 wetted rubber, I gently and regularly sweep the 
 surface from end to end in the running direction of 
 the fibre, three successive times; I then rub across 
 the grain with a semicircular motion, till the polishing 
 tool becomes dry. This operation is of course repeated 
 
FRENCH POLISHING. 
 
 25 
 
 until the whole surface of the pores is no longer visible. 
 The work so treated is now to be left in a clean apart¬ 
 ment for a period of twelve hours; this being the time 
 required for the complete absorption of the first body. 
 
 I he sinking period having expired, the work is 
 smoothed, dusted, &c., and then the polishing of it is 
 recommenced. The first sweepings are similar to those 
 described in the preceding embodying, after which I 
 ply the rubber wholly with a rotatory movement, 
 leaning lightly on it at first, and slightly increasing 
 the necessary pressure towards the drying of it, which 
 I finally accomplish by sweeping once or twice along 
 the grain, expressly to remove any marks that may 
 have been caused by the cross or round rubbings. 
 
 In these manipulations it is much better to use 
 freely extended motions, than contracted ones ; there¬ 
 fore the mechanical movements of the arm must on no 
 account be confined. 
 
 Rules. —Wipe all the dust off your work at each 
 recommencement. Allow every embodying a proper 
 time to absorb and harden, previous to the reapplica¬ 
 tion of smoothing stuffs or polishes. Cover your 
 rubber with a clean part of the rag at each wetting. 
 Carefully guard against working your implement too 
 long in one direction, and leaning too heavily on it 
 when it is very wet, else you will be apt to produce 
 coarse marks and streaky roughness. 
 
 Rubber marks may be removed by their being 
 reversely rubbed with a heavily - pressed half dry 
 cubber. 
 
 In polishing a very large surface, such as the top of 
 a dining table, do only one-half at a time. 
 
 In spiriting, the finishing spirit should not be used 
 in excess, because it dissolves a portion of the resinous 
 or gummy body, and thereby causes dimness instead 
 of brightness. If, however, the spirit be slightly 
 
26 THE FRENCH POLISHER’S MANUAL. 
 
 I 
 
 mixed with polish, and be sparingly and judiciously 
 employed, the desired clearness of lustre will make 
 itself apparent. Prior to the application of the “spirit 
 cloth,” which consists of a few soft rags loosely rolled 
 up in the shape of a large finger rubber and slightly 
 damped with spirit, it is most essential to ply the 
 rubber more quickly, and a little longer than ordinary, 
 for the purpose of removing all signs of moisture and 
 greasiness from the surface of the gloss. 
 
 Most polishers seem to think that nothing can be 
 more productive of transparent brilliancy and durable 
 hardness at the finish than the moderate use'of spirit 
 that has been somewhat weakened by exposure to the 
 air, and an allowance of two hours as a resting period 
 between the final embodying and the spiriting. 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR REPOLISHING. 
 
 In order to apply this process with facility, you 
 will find it needful to disunite the various parts of 
 each article. If your job be a wardrobe, take off 
 the doors by unfastening their hinges; remove all 
 the screw nails; take off the cornice ; lift the wings 
 or carcases from the base; and then separate the 
 mouldings and other carved ornaments from the 
 frames and panels of the doors. If it be a chest of 
 drawers, pull the drawers out; unscrew the knobs 
 or handles; remove the scutcheons from the key-holes; 
 free the columns or pilasters from their recesses ; and 
 lift the carcase from off the base. If your job should 
 happen to be a sideboard, separate the upper back 
 from the top, unscrew the under back, and then take 
 the base, top, and pedestals asunder. 
 
 After having disjoined the different portions and 
 ornaments, take a pencil and put tallying marks on 
 every two meeting sides; this will guide you in having 
 
GENERAL REMARKS AND USEFUL RECEIPTS. 27 
 
 everything appropriately replaced, when the complete 
 article is finished. 
 
 The viscid rust must be thoroughly removed from 
 the surface of the work ; this is done by scrubbing it 
 with a paste made of the finest emery flour and spirit 
 of turpentine. 
 
 After cleansing, and before repolishing, it is a good 
 plan to merely moisten the face of the work with 
 raw linseed oil, for this causes the old body to unite 
 with the new one. 
 
 Where shallow dents, scratches, and broken parts 
 of the polish present themselves, carefully coat them 
 two or three times wnth a thick solution of shellac, 
 and when the last coatings become hard rub them 
 with soft putty until they become uniformly smooth 
 and even, then proceed to repolish the general surface. 
 
 GENERAL REMARKS AND USEFUL 
 RECEIPTS. 
 
 Ornaments of brass must be well heated before 
 they receive a coat of lacquer. 
 
 Equal parts of marrow oil, prepared ox-gall, and 
 ivory black, all finely mixed, form a valuable com¬ 
 position for renovating old hair-cloth. 
 
 After having been washed with spirit of turpentine, 
 and coated with coloured varnish, old-faded morocco 
 looks almost as well as new. 
 
 Finely-varnished carved work presents a highly- 
 polished appearance after it has been nicely smoothed 
 with an oily flannel. 
 
 An elaborate piece of fine carving should go through 
 the following process :—1st. It should be smoothly 
 French polished to a good extent. 2nd. Sponged or 
 
28 
 
 THE FRENCH POLISHER’S MANUAL. 
 
 brushed with a thickish solution of shellac in spirit of 
 wine. 3rd. Minutely smoothed with the finest glass- 
 paper ; this is the most difficult process of all, and it 
 requires assiduous and careful management. 4th. It 
 should be again well embodied with polish, and then 
 evenly coated with slake; the slaking must be done 
 with care and precision. 5th. After hardening for a 
 few hours, finish with a rubber slightly damped with 
 thin polish. 
 
 Stains of ink are removed from writing desks, &c., 
 by embrocation with oxalic acid, or spirit of salt. 
 Stains that are purely alkaline can be neutralized 
 with various soluble acids. 
 
 Slight indentations may be erased by repeatedly 
 pressing wet pieces of paper upon them with a hot 
 iron till the moisture evaporates. 
 
 The approved mode of treating the top of a dining 
 table, is to Trench polish it first, to glass-paper the 
 polish off the surface, and then to polish it with oil. 
 
 Eaw linseed oil is the only fixed oil used in Trench 
 polishing. 
 
 Trench polish is made by dissolving twenty-eight 
 ounces (avoirdupois) of shellac, and one and a half 
 ounce each of sandrac, benzoin, and white resin, 
 in a gallon of 0. P. finishing spirit. By substituting 
 pure bleached shellac for the ordinary brown kind, 
 white polish is obtained. 
 
 The ingredients of common varnish are nearly simi¬ 
 lar to those of polish, but are somewhat different in 
 their proportions, being forty ounces of shellac, four 
 ounces ol resin, five ounces of benzoin, two ounces 
 each of sandrac and white resin, to the gallon of spirit. 
 
 Tiuishing varnish, which is distinguished by the 
 technical name of slake, is prepared by dissolving an 
 ounce of mastic and five ounces of benzoin in five 
 gills of finishing spirit. 
 
GENERAL REMARKS AND USEFUL RECEIPTS. 29 
 
 An excellent varnish for gilt work is compounded 
 thus :—Seedlac, in grain, 25 parts ; gumlac, 30 ; gam¬ 
 boge, 45 ; annotta, 40 ; dragon’s blood, 35; saffron, 30. 
 The two lacs are mixed and dissolved in 130 parts of 
 spirit of wine; this constitutes the varnish ; the other 
 ingredients are dissolved separately, each in 95 parts 
 of spirit; these form the tinctures with which the 
 varnish is coloured to match the different shades of 
 gold. 
 
 Brass lacquer is simply a solution of seedlac and 
 gamboge in alcohol. 
 
 In the manufacture of each of the prescribed pre¬ 
 parations, gums and resins are reduced to powder and 
 put into a jar containing the proper quantity of spirit. 
 The jar is kept in a hot bed of sand or water, and its 
 contents are frequently agitated by shaking and stir¬ 
 ring until they unite and form into a consistent liquid. 
 These fluids may afterwards be either thickened with 
 gum or resin, or thinned with spirit of wine or recti¬ 
 fied naphtha. They must always be carefully strained 
 before use. 
 
 A deep blue dye is obtained by dissolving East 
 Indian indigo in arsenious acid. Arsenite of copper 
 produces a beautiful green; and here are directions 
 for making another green stain:—Digest a quantity 
 of Roman vitriol in boiling water, to which add a 
 similar quantity of pearl-ash, then forcibly agitate the 
 mixture, and finish by gradually stirring into it a small 
 allowance of pulverized yellow arsenic. 
 
 Clarified ox-gall both fixes and improves a great 
 many colours; besides being useful as a mordant, it 
 destroys unctuous matter, and when consistently used 
 in varnishes it prevents the coatings from cracking 
 when they become old. 
 
 In slaking, a single coat is so very thin that it 
 sometimes does not oroduee the desired effect; in such 
 
30 THE FRENCH POLISHER’S MANUAL. 
 
 cases a second coat should be applied as soon as the 
 first one becomes dry. It is an extremely bad plan to 
 put slake on newly-spirited work, or to reapply it on 
 old bodies. 
 
 The room in which polishing and varnishing are 
 performed necessarily requires to be free from damp¬ 
 ness; and its temperature must not fall below 45°, 
 nor rise higher than 57° Fahrenheit. 
 
 Dexterous stainers can dye colourless timber in 
 imitation of either rosewood or mahogany, with merely 
 a strong decoction of logwood. 
 
 A deep scarlet stain is procured by macerating red 
 sanders in rectified naphtha. 
 
 Al l use of the pastes and liquids which have hitherto 
 been introduced and sold as “ revivers,” ought to be 
 totally abandoned, because their properties have all 
 been experimentally attested, and it is found that 
 they prove more deleterious than beneficial; hence 
 nothing is more successfully employed for both 
 “ polish-reviving ” and “ oil-polishing ” purposes than 
 raw linseed oil moderately thinned with turpentine 
 or spirit of wine. 
 
 The best method of preserving rubbers and sponges 
 is to keep them in a close tin canister. 
 
 In the act of embodying or spiriting, the wet rubber 
 should never be allowed to stick for an instant to the 
 surface of the polish. 
 
 An effectual course of procedure in pore-filling is to 
 make use of the usual quantity of oil, and to shake a 
 small muslin bag containing smoothly-ground pumice- 
 stone repeatedly over the job while it is being em¬ 
 bodied. Dry plaster of Paris is frequently used in 
 like manner. 
 
 Thin panellings for doors should be securely tacked 
 down to a level board, with their fronts uppermost, 
 and then polished with a large round flannel rubber 
 
GENERAL REMARKS AND USEFUL RECEIPTS. 31 
 
 having a very flat sole. But before fretted panels can 
 be treated in that manner, their edges require to be 
 entirely finished in the varnishing. 
 
 Of all the portions of furniture which come under 
 the polisher’s care, an elaborate fretting of rosewood 
 is perhaps the most difficult to manage; this is not so 
 much attributable to fibrous poriness as it is to the 
 extreme delicacy and brittleness of the united members 
 which form a complete panel or pediment. Indeed, to 
 be successful in putting what is commonly called “ a 
 perfect gloss ” upon the finer specimens of fretwork, 
 patience and carefulness must constantly accompany 
 industrious perseverance. 
 
 
 \ 
 
 LONDON : PRINTED BY WM. CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED* 
 STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. 
 

 
 V