How to look after a French polishing rubber?

Well, let me explain the problems, that I often come across first.

I have seen many polishing rubbers being left on dirty workbenches and this causes so many problems due to dust and grime transference onto the rubber surface, and then when you go to use your rubber it becomes useless.

Another problem that I come across is when the rag becomes overused,  and the fibres of the rag then become clogged and this in turn then stops the polish flowing from the cotton wool inside your rubber and passing through the fabric then onto the polished surface.

Time for some help!

The best way I find is to always keep your rubber spotless and the rag must be changed often throughout the polishing process, this will also help to remove some of the oil during the finishing off process.

Rubber must be stored in an airtight container to prevent the rubber from drying out.

Before putting your rubber away at the end of the day, it is a good idea to open up the rubber and apply some Methylated spirits and then re-shape your rubber before putting back in the container.  This will keep your rubber moist and save it from drying out even though whilst in a jar, it can still dry out to some extent.

Remember to squeeze out the Methylated spirits before use if you don’t then you could and most certainly will damage your polished finish as the Methylated spirits will melt the polished surface and leave you with a nasty mark to deal with.

I always keep my polishing rubbers in a glass jar and that way I can see the condition of the rubbers inside.

I tend to keep the cotton wool inside my rubbers for ages as they seldom need changing the term used for the cotton wool part of the rubber is known as a fad.

A fad can be used for bodying up or sealing the grain using Shellac sanding sealer or as I often use it for polishing on table legs such as barley twist etc.

I hope this will be of some help to you?  Feedback! Always very welcome.