French Polishing and Enamelling - A Practical Work of Instruction by Richard Bitmead
page 42 of 136 (30%)
page 42 of 136 (30%)
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of the polish present themselves, carefully coat them two or three times
with a thick solution of shellac, and when the last coating becomes hard carefully paper down with a piece of old glass-paper and a cork rubber. If the surface should be in good condition, it is necessary only to remove the viscid rust; this is done by friction with a felt-covered rubber and pure spirits of turpentine; by this means the polish remains unsullied. If the surface should not be in very good condition, a flannel should be used smeared with a paste of bathbrick-dust and water, or a paste made of the finest emery flour and spirits of turpentine. After cleansing, and before the polish is applied, it is a good plan to just moisten the surface with raw linseed-oil; this will cause the old body to unite with the new one. In order to carry out the process of re-polishing with facility, it is necessary to disunite all the various parts, such as panels, carvings, etc., before commencing the operation. The polish is applied in the usual manner, and when a good body is laid on the work should be set aside for twelve hours, after which it can be finished. It should be particularly observed that in polishing no job should be finished immediately after the rubbing-down process; a sinking period should always be allowed. If the work should be immediately finished, the consequences are that in a few hours all the marks and scratches of the paper, etc., will be discernible, and the polished surface will present a very imperfect appearance, although looking perfect when first finished. Holes and crevices may be well filled up with a cement made in the following manner: In a large iron spoon place a lump of beeswax about the size of a walnut, a pinch of the pigments mentioned on page 5, |
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