I'm interested in the grain filler but cannot find it in your store. What brands would you recommend I try on old American Oak that looks like it was only ever lightly shellacked and 80% of that since worn off? Even where the shellac remains it is still a bit rough for my liking and I'd really like to improve the overall finish. It is, of all things, a small box that "unfolds" into a kind of tray and was made to hold a selection of sewing machine attachments. They are commonly called "puzzle boxes" and mine is about a century or so old, I think. They are such delightful things they deserve more care in their finishing than they got originally (no doubt because it just wasn't economical). Thank you for any tips you can give me. :-) (Edited to add, I would like to add shellac/french polish to it - though perhaps not quite to degree you do in this series of videos - and finish it with a beeswax polish, just in case that influences your advice.)
Imagine wandering out to your wood stash and being able to select a piece of hand shaped mahogany from the 1700s! I have some beautiful timber - some of which will bear the fruits of all your hard work preparing this series - but nothing Georgian I'm afraid! Many thanks indeed from Sydney, Australia - David
Was telling /complaining to my wife how even though I follow so many guys French polishing, I fk it up every time! Now I know why! They don’t do it correctly like this.
Hi .. I did french polishing a As an apprenticeship but did not finish it and moved to construction . But I distinctly remember doing the staining after the first seal coat.. as there was greater control of the colouring process .. is this a different method / approach to the one shown.. thanks in advance for your feed back..
Hi Simon, Love your work. I'm over in Australia and can only get spirit or water based stains unfortunately. Is there a way to make the stuff yourself?. Would really appreciate any information you can give an ex-pat. - thanks Sam.
Just wondering, do you use a new cotton cloth for every project, or do you clean and reuse cloths? I do a lot of projects and typically, i use real thick napkins, (the auto store napkins work best) to save money on cotton cloths. but i only use the napkins for the stain of course. For the finish i use linen or a brush.
Hi. I only replace the rubber face if it is worn. Often after considerable use the face will often wear holes in it, at which point I replace it. Buffing cloths are repeatedly used again but staining cloths cant really be reused. In the days when we would be spending weeks staining we would recycle the stain wiping cloth (The cloth we use to remove the excess stain) And use is as the staining cloth. 🙂
Because we are not professional film makers and we need music to fill the void. And often to drown out other unwanted noises in the wider environment where we are working. Sorry.
@@GilboysRestoration doesn't matter whether you are professional or not. You don't need the music. Will find a video where there is no music. Shame. The content looks great.
Hi 👋 I’m new to woodworking and I’m just completing a dovetail box a tissue paper dispenser and what would you recommend as a stain to darken…I’ve made it out of sepela and beech…🤓
First off, what a beautiful and very informative video! 👏 Secondly, anybody ever told you that you look like the slightly elderly brother of Bradley Cooper??🙂
😁 Thank you, I think 🤪. Being likened to Bradley Cooper is kind, but 'elderly' is a bit harsh. 😆 (It's what they call a 'Cornish Compliment' in this neck of the woods) He's only five years younger than me. Maybe I had a tough 'paper round'.
Hello, really useful video’s thank you. I have a question, how do you remove grain filler if you’ve applied it a little unevenly in patches? I’ve tried spot sanding with 400 paper, then 0000 wire wool over the entire surface, so should I use meths/ white spirit, or just go ahead with the fading stage? Any advice would be most welcome!
@@RadicalEdwardStudios I did Erin, the answer is in the sentence, by this I mean, if you cant french polish without shellac, then Shellac is logically french polish, and there is a technique to apply that polish. Don’t forget, polish makes stuff shiny.
@@RadicalEdwardStudios actually I didn’t the word ‘apparently ‘ is the key to the meaning of the sentence, it was used as a soft way of saying that french polishing cant be done without shellac and therefore shellac is french polish. Is this an argument?
Hi Micheal. Everyones first attempt at French polishing is a mess. If it was easy there would be no need for three year apprenticeships in learning how to do it. 😆. It's a case of try, try and try again. 🙂 It's very rewarding once you get there. 😀 Simon
I have tried to seal the wood with schallec at 85deg F, in preparation to spraying polyurethane, it has to be sealed because the wood is so open grained . There is no way I could cover more than 12” sq area before it is drying and preventing the pad to move as it is drying so fast. Do I need to add alcohol and this the schallec? Or what do I need to do to seal this wood? Thanks.
Do you know what pound cut of shellac you were working with? If it was 2 or 3 lb cut, combined with the heat, I’d say that was the source of your difficulties. You can thin it down, as you suggest, with more alcohol. When spraying poly, I usually use a 1.5 lb cut.
Hello sir, I use acetone as a solvent for shellac flakes and dissolve shellac and polish with it. Is this correct ? because i have used acetone and i haven't seen any problem yet. The only difference i observed that acetone dries much faster than alcohol. Guide me which is better for french polishing ,alcohol or acetone as a solvent. I mean what is the advantage of alcohol over acetone because i have seen many people and they only use alcohol. Here in India denatured alcohol and acetone is readily available but i have seen many people use acetone rather than alcohol. Can you help clear my doubt regarding this.
Marvfelous production values. I confess I hoped to learn more about the "grain filler", and all we get to observe is the back of the can. Food for thought?
Hi Bob. It's because that grain filler is so old, you probably cant buy it anymore. 🙂 I would have though that most restoration suppliers will have grain filler ini stock. They should all be of a similar quality. 🙂 Simon
Hmmmm. I haven't watched any of this and already have low expectations. If you can teach FP in 3 thirty minute videos I am going to be depressed how long it took me to learn. So visual and so learning the feeling.
Hi Robert. Thanks for your support. 😀 The idea is to help people understand the 'process' of French Polishing. I also had a 4 year apprenticeship in it, but you have to start somewhere. and RUclips is rife with misinformation. I hope I'm giving people an understanding of how to go about it. ( the way I was taught) Let's face it who is teaching it these days. It will give an insight for those wishing to try, like you say it's all about the feel. Something that will always be impossible to understand unless you practise over and over. Kind regards Simon
@@GilboysRestoration You are totally right. I was perhaps being a bit hypercritical. The one thing I learned about FP is that it seems we all do it differently. I don't see a lot of US practitioners like myself on YT(they tend to do a terrible job) and the UK people seem to do hmmmmm.... I don't know, it tends to not be as "intensive" as I was taught? I can't say what is better or worse as I am not a master of the craft by any means. The technique I was taught, we would do 100 to 1000+ coats of finish on a piece. There was one mahogany table that I can't even imagine how many coats it had on it. Plus the orange/beeswax finish I see a lot of people use is not like the way we finished stuff off. Everything is different I guess.
I'm not sure you really understand what is being shown here. I am showing the processes of French Polishing. Something that can take years to learn. These processes are the bedrock of finishing furniture or wood. They can be applied throughout the world of finishing all wood.
Love your channel! I have a deep love for furniture restoration the more im getting older and although i have no formal training im self taught in most of it. Although i admit im finding making the french polishing fad a bit difficult (not the rubber). Ive tried folding the cotton cloth in on itself and i cant seem to get the shape right and it always feels lumpy. Im sure the cloth is too big or too thin or something idk but im sure i’ll get the hang of it! Got a few pieces i want to refinish with that finish so i’ll have loads of practice haha
Usually the grain filler is applied after staining. If my grain filler's colour doesn't match that of the applied stain, can I apply a second coat of stain over the grain filler?
Yes you can, but it's unlikely this will be necessary. If you do try and avoid removing the grain filler that you have just applied as much as possible. you can always adjust the colour later on.. See here 21:30 part 2 of 3 Kind regards Simon
Fantastic tutorial! thank you for making it. I hope you have time for a question, if not I understand. I am finishing American walnut using a polymerized raw linseed oil colored with Alkanet root for its red color. Filling as always been a challenge for me when I use this finish as I had to sand the oil in making a slurry to fill the grain. This takes quite long and many applications. Do you have a suggestion in a grain filler that might work with the Alkanet polymerized raw linseed oil that would help me reduce the time it takes to finish an item?
Hi William. I would have thought the thixotropic commercial grain filler ( like I used ) will work well with the linseed oil. American walnut is very tight grained so I would have thought grain filling would be a very quick process. Have you looked at oil based grain fillers on google? Kind regards Simon
@@GilboysRestoration Hi Simon, Thank you for writing back. I have always filled the grain on walnut using the linseed and sandpaper method where I build a slurry and move that material into the grain or by using saved sanding dust and linseed oil or using a 50/50 mix of Tung oil and sprits. All except the tung oil method are time-consuming on large pieces. I have no experience with oil base grain fillers. I have used water-based grain fillers on pine and oak with some luck. Since I use Alkanet root as a stain (tint) and oil coloring agent I was not sure how it might work with a grain filler. I'll take a look at the thixotropic commercial grain fillers you use and see what happens, no better way to find out I guess. Thank you again !
@@thefilthelement You do understand this is a tutorial about the processes of French Polishing? Stain is not paint. It's there to enhance the natural grain and features of the wood. ✅ Kind regards Simon
Hi Chris. The brand is not really important when it comes to grain fillers. (in my experience) They all should all perform well, Ive not come across a bad one yet. Kind regards Simon
I'm interested in the grain filler but cannot find it in your store. What brands would you recommend I try on old American Oak that looks like it was only ever lightly shellacked and 80% of that since worn off? Even where the shellac remains it is still a bit rough for my liking and I'd really like to improve the overall finish. It is, of all things, a small box that "unfolds" into a kind of tray and was made to hold a selection of sewing machine attachments. They are commonly called "puzzle boxes" and mine is about a century or so old, I think. They are such delightful things they deserve more care in their finishing than they got originally (no doubt because it just wasn't economical). Thank you for any tips you can give me. :-) (Edited to add, I would like to add shellac/french polish to it - though perhaps not quite to degree you do in this series of videos - and finish it with a beeswax polish, just in case that influences your advice.)
Thank you, I really enjoyed your humble, down-to-earth personality and they way you present everything. Brilliant!
Thank you. That's very kind
Imagine wandering out to your wood stash and being able to select a piece of hand shaped mahogany from the 1700s! I have some beautiful timber - some of which will bear the fruits of all your hard work preparing this series - but nothing Georgian I'm afraid! Many thanks indeed from Sydney, Australia - David
I do think with these demos the camera needs to be closer to the action
Was telling /complaining to my wife how even though I follow so many guys French polishing, I fk it up every time! Now I know why! They don’t do it correctly like this.
The continuous music is annoying. I can't hear you speak. Didn't come here for the music. Had to unsubscribe.
Hi .. I did french polishing a
As an apprenticeship but did not finish it and moved to construction . But I distinctly remember doing the staining after the first seal coat.. as there was greater control of the colouring process .. is this a different method / approach to the one shown.. thanks in advance for your feed back..
Such a fascinating video, thank you. I would like to know the music selection you used, it’s beautiful!
Hi Simon, Love your work. I'm over in Australia and can only get spirit or water based stains unfortunately. Is there a way to make the stuff yourself?. Would really appreciate any information you can give an ex-pat. - thanks Sam.
Greetings from Philadelphia,
Is the oil (or naphtha) stain you are using an aniline dye? If not, is it a transparent stain?
Just wondering, do you use a new cotton cloth for every project, or do you clean and reuse cloths? I do a lot of projects and typically, i use real thick napkins, (the auto store napkins work best) to save money on cotton cloths. but i only use the napkins for the stain of course. For the finish i use linen or a brush.
Hi. I only replace the rubber face if it is worn. Often after considerable use the face will often wear holes in it, at which point I replace it.
Buffing cloths are repeatedly used again but staining cloths cant really be reused.
In the days when we would be spending weeks staining we would recycle the stain wiping cloth (The cloth we use to remove the excess stain) And use is as the staining cloth. 🙂
J'aime beaucoup vos vidéos, super
Very annoying music , why bother
Because we are not professional film makers and we need music to fill the void. And often to drown out other unwanted noises in the wider environment where we are working. Sorry.
@@GilboysRestoration doesn't matter whether you are professional or not. You don't need the music. Will find a video where there is no music. Shame. The content looks great.
Thank you so much for making this series, I found it really easy to consume content that was very informative!
Thanks you. I'm glad it was helpful to you.
Does it matter if the shellac is de-waxed or not?
Hi, what special pale french polish do you use?
I would like to try the same one as I am finding the polish I use too thick.
Cheers
Hi Robert.
It really shouldn't matter on the brand too much. As long as it is 'special pale polish' it should be of a uniform consistency. ✅
Hi 👋 I’m new to woodworking and I’m just completing a dovetail box a tissue paper dispenser and what would you recommend as a stain to darken…I’ve made it out of sepela and beech…🤓
First off, what a beautiful and very informative video! 👏 Secondly, anybody ever told you that you look like the slightly elderly brother of Bradley Cooper??🙂
😁 Thank you, I think 🤪. Being likened to Bradley Cooper is kind, but 'elderly' is a bit harsh. 😆 (It's what they call a 'Cornish Compliment' in this neck of the woods) He's only five years younger than me. Maybe I had a tough 'paper round'.
@@GilboysRestoration And that is why I used the term slightly! 😄
@@TheAncientAstronomer 😁😂
Excellent, as usual.🇦🇺👴🏻
get a mic!
Hello, really useful video’s thank you. I have a question, how do you remove grain filler if you’ve applied it a little unevenly in patches? I’ve tried spot sanding with 400 paper, then 0000 wire wool over the entire surface, so should I use meths/ white spirit, or just go ahead with the fading stage? Any advice would be most welcome!
Dampen a cloth with white spirit. This should do the trick.
Try not to wipe with the grain as you may wipe it all off. ✅
It's worth noting that french polish is the technique, and it's still called that in the US [as far as I've ever heard]. Shellac is just the material.
Maybe, but you cant it appears french polish without shellac
@@timhull8664 Sure, but also, examine the sentence you just wrote, and think about that
@@RadicalEdwardStudios I did Erin, the answer is in the sentence, by this I mean, if you cant french polish without shellac, then Shellac is logically french polish, and there is a technique to apply that polish. Don’t forget, polish makes stuff shiny.
@@timhull8664 I'm referring to the fact that you still kept the distinction in writing the sentence
@@RadicalEdwardStudios actually I didn’t the word ‘apparently ‘ is the key to the meaning of the sentence, it was used as a soft way of saying that french polishing cant be done without shellac and therefore shellac is french polish. Is this an argument?
Nice at around 24:30 in the fading stage the tool marks from the planes that was used the flattin the board are starting to show. just amazing
¡Excelente!... Gracias Maestro...
My first attempt at French polishing was a real mess. Had to wipe it all down with methylated spirits and start again. Right on to Part 2...
Hi Micheal.
Everyones first attempt at French polishing is a mess. If it was easy there would be no need for three year apprenticeships in learning how to do it. 😆. It's a case of try, try and try again. 🙂
It's very rewarding once you get there. 😀
Simon
I have tried to seal the wood with schallec at 85deg F, in preparation to spraying polyurethane, it has to be sealed because the wood is so open grained . There is no way I could cover more than 12” sq area before it is drying and preventing the pad to move as it is drying so fast. Do I need to add alcohol and this the schallec? Or what do I need to do to seal this wood?
Thanks.
Do you know what pound cut of shellac you were working with? If it was 2 or 3 lb cut, combined with the heat, I’d say that was the source of your difficulties. You can thin it down, as you suggest, with more alcohol. When spraying poly, I usually use a 1.5 lb cut.
Very interestig so far, have a nice day !!!.
Thanks Brian, you too!
💕 اللهم يسر
Hello sir,
I use acetone as a solvent for shellac flakes and dissolve shellac and polish with it.
Is this correct ? because i have used acetone and i haven't seen any problem yet. The only difference i observed that acetone dries much faster than alcohol.
Guide me which is better for french polishing ,alcohol or acetone as a solvent.
I mean what is the advantage of alcohol over acetone because i have seen many people and they only use alcohol.
Here in India denatured alcohol and acetone is readily available but i have seen many people use acetone rather than alcohol.
Can you help clear my doubt regarding this.
Hi if it works for you, then keep doing it. But as you say.. Acetone may evaporate quicker meaning you have to work faster. 😁
Marvfelous production values. I confess I hoped to learn more about the "grain filler", and all we get to observe is the back of the can. Food for thought?
Hi Bob.
It's because that grain filler is so old, you probably cant buy it anymore. 🙂 I would have though that most restoration suppliers will have grain filler ini stock. They should all be of a similar quality. 🙂
Simon
👍💕 good luck 👍
Hmmmm. I haven't watched any of this and already have low expectations. If you can teach FP in 3 thirty minute videos I am going to be depressed how long it took me to learn. So visual and so learning the feeling.
Hi Robert. Thanks for your support. 😀
The idea is to help people understand the 'process' of French Polishing. I also had a 4 year apprenticeship in it, but you have to start somewhere. and RUclips is rife with misinformation.
I hope I'm giving people an understanding of how to go about it. ( the way I was taught)
Let's face it who is teaching it these days. It will give an insight for those wishing to try, like you say it's all about the feel. Something that will always be impossible to understand unless you practise over and over.
Kind regards
Simon
@@GilboysRestoration You are totally right. I was perhaps being a bit hypercritical. The one thing I learned about FP is that it seems we all do it differently. I don't see a lot of US practitioners like myself on YT(they tend to do a terrible job) and the UK people seem to do hmmmmm.... I don't know, it tends to not be as "intensive" as I was taught? I can't say what is better or worse as I am not a master of the craft by any means. The technique I was taught, we would do 100 to 1000+ coats of finish on a piece. There was one mahogany table that I can't even imagine how many coats it had on it. Plus the orange/beeswax finish I see a lot of people use is not like the way we finished stuff off. Everything is different I guess.
I’ve loved watching this process, but what’s the point when you can get a beautiful finish with your own pure gold finish
That's very kind of you. But using wax polish alone to get this finish will take a lot longer and wont be as durable. 🙂
Why stain mahogany?
I'm not sure you really understand what is being shown here. I am showing the processes of French Polishing. Something that can take years to learn. These processes are the bedrock of finishing furniture or wood. They can be applied throughout the world of finishing all wood.
Love your channel! I have a deep love for furniture restoration the more im getting older and although i have no formal training im self taught in most of it.
Although i admit im finding making the french polishing fad a bit difficult (not the rubber). Ive tried folding the cotton cloth in on itself and i cant seem to get the shape right and it always feels lumpy. Im sure the cloth is too big or too thin or something idk but im sure i’ll get the hang of it! Got a few pieces i want to refinish with that finish so i’ll have loads of practice haha
It's all about the practice. The more you do it the better you'll get.. keep going .. 👏
Hi I know its been a while but ive tried to watch this video again but its not playing. can it be fixed? thanks. great video.
Hi Patrick. It looks like its working well now. ✅ Thank for watching.
Simon
A really good video and lovely technique
Usually the grain filler is applied after staining. If my grain filler's colour doesn't match that of the applied stain, can I apply a second coat of stain over the grain filler?
Yes you can, but it's unlikely this will be necessary.
If you do try and avoid removing the grain filler that you have just applied as much as possible.
you can always adjust the colour later on.. See here 21:30 part 2 of 3
Kind regards
Simon
@@GilboysRestoration many thanks Simon 😊
I think it´s not possible to get oil stain in Germany... There´s only water stain.
I'm surprised by this. I would have thought it would be available. Maybe try googling naptha stain?
badass video thanks
Looking forward to two and three!
Me too
Me too!
To get your pear Shap, I use a ball of cotton wool.
If it works for you then great. 👍
Hi,
I've got a table that I Want to work on.
Can I mix the stain with saw dust as a filler for my table?
When you say a filler, what do you mean? A grain filler no. You can mix it with plaster of paris as a grain filler. 😃
@@GilboysRestoration thanks
Fantastic tutorial! thank you for making it. I hope you have time for a question, if not I understand. I am finishing American walnut using a polymerized raw linseed oil colored with Alkanet root for its red color. Filling as always been a challenge for me when I use this finish as I had to sand the oil in making a slurry to fill the grain. This takes quite long and many applications. Do you have a suggestion in a grain filler that might work with the Alkanet polymerized raw linseed oil that would help me reduce the time it takes to finish an item?
Hi William.
I would have thought the thixotropic commercial grain filler ( like I used ) will work well with the linseed oil. American walnut is very tight grained so I would have thought grain filling would be a very quick process. Have you looked at oil based grain fillers on google?
Kind regards
Simon
@@GilboysRestoration Hi Simon, Thank you for writing back. I have always filled the grain on walnut using the linseed and sandpaper method where I build a slurry and move that material into the grain or by using saved sanding dust and linseed oil or using a 50/50 mix of Tung oil and sprits. All except the tung oil method are time-consuming on large pieces.
I have no experience with oil base grain fillers. I have used water-based grain fillers on pine and oak with some luck.
Since I use Alkanet root as a stain (tint) and oil coloring agent I was not sure how it might work with a grain filler.
I'll take a look at the thixotropic commercial grain fillers you use and see what happens, no better way to find out I guess. Thank you again !
You staining mahogany makes me cry
O'dear. I'm not sure why?
@@GilboysRestoration it's too pretty natural to ruin with stain. That's like painting walnut
@@thefilthelement You do understand this is a tutorial about the processes of French Polishing?
Stain is not paint. It's there to enhance the natural grain and features of the wood. ✅
Kind regards
Simon
What’s the brand of grain filler?
Hi Chris.
The brand is not really important when it comes to grain fillers. (in my experience)
They all should all perform well, Ive not come across a bad one yet.
Kind regards
Simon
@@GilboysRestoration If you sell a product you could put a link to it.