Hello
Charlotte,
Thank you
for getting back to me, firstly yes it is best to make a new rubber if you find
that it has become too sticky or the surface of the rag has an oily shine build
up, as the French polish can’t pass through the rag when it gets in this poor condition.
Secondly you
only need to apply a very small amount of methylated spirits on your rubber,
and the way I do this is to always open up the rag and then hold the bottle of
methylated sprits against the cotton wool and up turn the spirits slowly and
make sure that it does not spill out anywhere near your polished surface.
Once you
have done this re-shape your rubber, and then using a clean cloth press out the
excess polish onto the cloth this ensures that you will have less chance of
applying too much polish to the surface.
In French
polishing we don’t use the word coats, as this would imply that it is the same
finish as varnish which it is clearly not.
We use the
term bodying up this is a very slow process together with the use of linseed
oil ensures that you can continue to build up a fantastic shine, and when done
with experience will produce an outstanding finish.
Thirdly it
is best when you have finished French polishing your item, leave it to dry for
at least three days to dry, as the methylated spirits will need to evaporate
through the polished surface and in turn harden.
The longer
you leave the surface to dry the better.
When you are
not using your rubber, always keep it in an airtight container, I use a screw
top jar this works very well.
And a good
tip before you put away your rubber for the day, open up the rubber and then apply
some methylated spirits as this will keep the cotton wool soft and subtle for
when you next come to use it.
However,
when you do next choose to use it, remember to squeeze out the excess methylated
spirits prior to use, if you don’t the methylated spirits will damaged your
polished surface.
I hope this
will help your Mother to develop her French polishing skills?
If you have
time, take a look at my video that I recently made.
Just Google/
YouTube: My Movie of Professional Wood
Finishing.wmv
I hope you
will like it.
Regards,
Andrew.
