When I told my husband I was going to french polish or dinning table, he thought I was mad. However, I followed the instructions in the video and I am delighted with the outcome. The most important thing I have learnt is not to rush it. The tips in the videos are fantastic. I am now looking for an old piece at auction, that I can have another go with ! I'm totally addicted. Dyanne :o)
ROB , I have been watching your videos lately and just to tell you , YOU ARE GREAT. You explain every detail that has to be done to see and enjoy the project your working on finished perfectly . Thank you for being on.
Thanks for your video Robert. Its just what I have been looking for. I learnt French Polishing years ago and restored quite a few pieces over about a five year period, but havent done any for probably about 20 years. Some of my pieces are now in need of revival.. Your methods are just the way I was taught and now its all coming back to me. Thanks again - and I'll be looking forward to any other videos that you put together. Chris (Adelaide, South Australia)
Hi Tim I mention in my videoed about oil you can use raw linseed or linseed oil or white oil... Oils vary but at 1st it won't make a great difference just practice the methods for now I once polished with a Greek guy in the north of Corfu we used olive oil there ... Thanks for the question Tim good luck many thanks rob.
I did high end furniture restoration in the US for quite a few years and have pieces in some prestigious places throughout the world. I like your technique even though it is different than mine.
As any one sin mi flippin wire wool like!! Excellent work Master Robskies, inspiring as always with a nice sprinkling of humour not to mention the music accompaniment too. Looking fwd to your other vids.
Hi Sean no electric sanders needed you can just strip when the top is that bad but fine wirewool will take the residue off thanks for watching good luck
I am needing to restore a 1910 C Bechstein piano's rosewood finish. Could you enlighten me as to who composed that wonderful piano piece playing in the first few minutes. Thanks.
I am restoring a Victorian concertina , it has delicate rose wood fretted ends, the french polish has rubbed back to bare wood around the buttons, can I build up small areas ( size of a 50p for example ) to regain the original thickness of the surrounding area of good polish finish ? Or would you strip the entire surface and repolish ? Most of the wood has a good appearance with hardly any damage and an almost mirror finish . I also noticed the green leather , I am trying to source Moroccan green leather to repair the bellows of the concertina, do you know where I can get reclaimed Victorian leather from?
Isaac buddy I have no idea what it contains I'm certainly no chemistry buff,I use methylated sprit here in the uk to break down shallac so you could always google that to find your answer.. I work in a barn in yorkshire with no heating a I don't suffer with any temperature problems I just stand a blow heater In front of what I'm working on I have had no problems in 16 years.
Hi Rob, love the videos, great tips. Am cleaning up an old chest of drawers and the drawer pulls have to be replaced due to a lot of damage on the old ones. Any advice on how to remove the dark impressions left by the old drawer pulls.
You could make a fad like I do in one of my videos.. You can then rub oil and salt round and round this helps to remove some darkness.. You could also flash it off (lighting alcohol solution on it) I know in the old days my dad use to rub cigerette ash and linceed oil round in circles..;-) there is nothing wrong with a bit of character you may be able to see old handle marks but that's just the story of the piece.. Thanks for watching good luck...
Could I just check you said you used Meths to clean/rub down the piece but the container has a light brown colour to the liquid but meths is a purple colour. Oh and excellent video but its what I would expect from a fellow Yorkshireman :-) thanks Rich
ey up Rich T..Methylated spirit has Pyridine added (purple) to prevent alcohol abuse i use a meths shellac thinners ita a quality blend of alcohol solvents its 95% purity and its clear in colour..rydenor products in york sell it..In the video my one is dirty because i will have used it for something else 1st,cleaning probably...save a penny make a pound..:-}..glad you like the vids..merry christmas...
Really useful videos, thanks. Am trying on a few items, rosewood sideboard and walnut veneer table. The sideboard has small patches of bare wood, so assume I need to sand the whole thing down for even finish? Can you recommend an electric sander? Also, quite a bit of white residue post meths and fine wire wool, perhaps used too much meths? Can't now get all the white residue out. Any tips appreciated, thanks.
Hi,I used the metho and steel wood as instructed to clean up but I think the wool was too wet. Some parts of the bed head went very tacky and now have sort of crystals on the surface now they have dried. I didn't get any white haze at all. Should I just rub them down with the steel wool? Then follow the instructions as per the video? The bed head has marketry and some veneer as well as solid wood and carving. Thanks
What is white oil? Is it glycerine (baby oil/bath oil)? Is there a specific brand that you use? Please be specific because mineral oil comes in many varieties and could be called something else in other countries.
Great vids. Someone else asked about the piano accompaniment to this video but I did not see a reply? I would really like to know the title and artist. Thanks.
Hi Rob, Thanks for the brilliant videos Your tips are really easy to follow so thanks again. I have some Liberon fine wood paint and varnish stripper. Can I use this instead of meth? Thanks. Jake
+Perthshire Scotland hi stripper will take all the polish right off back to the bare wood,so yes fine if you want to do that most strippers are made up of the same thing ...hope this helps many thanks ,Rob
Hi white oil is mineral oil you can use linceed or any other you like ..in Greece I used olive oil ..mineral oil works fast and comes out quick many thanks for watching Rob...
that will come with time seeing different finishes...i would like to think no one varnishes antiques, old furniture usually has french polish or lacquer on it or just wax, varnish dries so hard and bright you would need sunglasses not to see it on an old piece of furniture....if in doubt ask a pro you can always take a drawer or a part of the furniture to your local wood work man he will know if its varnish or not too... thanks for watching..i answer most questions on my facebook page ..see you on there ..!!! facebook.com/TheEnglishPolisher?ref=hl
Denatured alcohol (also called methylated spirits, in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom; wood spirit; and denatured ... Rubbing alcohol · Denatonium · Pyridine · Surrogate alcohol
