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| Hand French polished! |
Well, this is something I have been asked many times since I
first started French polishing back in 1968.
Speaking for myself, I have mixed feelings and am forever the
optimist. Well with the onset of stores selling flat-packed furniture that can
be taken home and then assembled for customer’s convenience, as opposed to the
more traditional furniture that has graced our homes for centuries.
I am a great believer
that an old piece of furniture, should it be in need of restoration to bring it
back to its former glory, looks much better than the bland modern furniture of
today, that has only a short working life span.
Together with the recession throughout the economy, people are cutting
back on their spending.
It would appear to me that French polishing has moved way down
the list of people’s priorities.
However, there does seem to be a resurgence in the interest in the
subject of French polishing as a whole, as this is borne out by my role as a
tutor in the subject with many more people choosing to learn French polishing for either a hobby
or in some cases a career.
Together with the increase in much faster drying finishes and
lacquers, have also helped in the decline in the use of French polish, the
skills to learn French polishing take many years to learn and develop and together with
the very limited number of training facilities make it even harder to learn such a
complex subject.
Many people underestimate just how many processes are involved
in French polishing such as preparation
i.e. stripping, sanding, staining, sealing and French polishing, then you have
to learn colour matching, making good damage and touching out marks and much
more and don’t forget wood identification, to say the least.
And on that note, I put the question out to you! Do you think that French polishing is
dead? I would welcome what you have to
say on the subject and once again thank you for taking the time to read my
posts and I hope you find them both informative and enjoyable.
Dear Andrew,
ReplyDeleteYou wrote:
"I am a great believer that an old piece of furniture...looks much better than the bland modern furniture of today..."
Can't say a truer word! Our modern bland style of furnishing is, I believe, the result of the fast-pace lifestyle of today.
If I recall our days at the London College of Furniture, we spent our wood finishing sessions spraying synthetics on a panel inside a spray booth - a reflection of the fast-pace mass-producing wood finishing that was taking place in the factory where I worked, even way back as 1968.
But at least the finished product was very good, fit for a connoisseur, and generally expensive, the top-of-the-market range of furniture. We even made elaborate Dynatron stereo music centres, some so huge that it serves as a piece of furniture in itself, finished with either a walnut or mahogany veneered front. As I look at our mini hi-fi made with a plastic cabinet sitting on the bookshelf - the contrast couldn't be any greater!
As you have described, the original craft of French polishing is a very skilled vocation, taking a lot of patience and learning to acquire. It most probably suited the old cottage workshops where a piece of furniture took weeks to handcraft and finish, without the convenient machinery and gadgetry found in modern factories.
Your craft skills are very precious, and If I had been you, I would have selected my students carefully before tutition, ensuring that not only they were interested, but fully committed to learn, and having the patience and the durability to absorb this rich and complex knowledge.
But with people like you, Andrew, there is good hope that French Polishing will survive as an original craft for many years to come.
All the best.
As a 36 year old French Polisher and been in the trade for 15 years now and just took the jump and got my own workshop, I feel as well that French Polishing is dying out, I learnt my trade (still am doing so)
ReplyDeleteIn a furniture workshop so also learnt about all the spray finishes too. I would say only 25% of my work now is French Polishing and that is upsetting as it is my love. Just maybe it could come back but the fact that dark furniture is out of fashion at the moment it could be a long wait.
Thanks
Sam
Hello Sam,
DeleteThank you for your feedback, congratulations on getting your workshop, this will be of great benefit to you. Yes the brown Furniture is not worth bothering with as prices are so low now.
I also do some spraying as and when the client or finish dictates. I am considering writing something about spray finishing what do you think? I am glad that you, like me love French polishing and long may that passion continue. Thanks for coming to my Blog site you can become a follower if you wish just see the link on the right hand side just below the Calender. Great to hear from you.
Regards Andrew.
Hello Andrew
DeleteYes you should write a bit about spray finishing, would be great to read.
Keep up the good work!
Hi Andrew
ReplyDeleteI have a question, when I am finishing off a French Polished
Job I use white oil. Is this what you use? Sorry for the random question.
Hi Sam,
DeleteNo I never use white oil, I use linseed from start to finish however, white oil is best suited to light timbers such as pine.
Hope this is helpful?
Keep up the good work
Thanks Andrew. Will try that now, thanks for getting back to me.
Delete