Would you like a sneak preview of my next job?

Would you like to have a sneak preview of my next job?

Well, here it is! 

This door is one Hundred and Fifty years old and looks like it has never been worked on in all that time.

Please come back again soon, and have a look at the finished article.

This is made from solid Oak

Sanded off

Stained & Varnished

Door Restoration

This is a pictorial display of some of the Doors I have worked on:

I thought you might like to know how I restored these Doors!

Well with help I managed to remove the doors from the frame so as to lay them flat on a work surface.

Then I used a very sharp scraper with a tungsten carbide blade and began to scrap off all the old finish, once all the finish was removed, I then switched to use a sander machine using coarse grade sandpaper.

This removed all the stubborn finish on the door surface, now once I had a clean surface I changed the sandpaper to a much finer grade to give me a very smooth finish.

As always I sanded the surface over by hand using a sanding block in the direction of the grain, this removes the little scale marks left by the sanding machine.

When I was happy with the result I selected the stain to be used after staining and when dry I then applied the first varnish coat, and then subsequent coats in fact three coats on the inside and four coats on the outside extra coats on the beading's and mouldings etc.

The same method was used on each of the doors in the pictures.

Once again I hope this will be of use to you?  If so hit the comment tab below and leave a message.

Thanks for coming to my Blog.

Before works

Sanded smooth

Stained and varnished

Before works

A pair of Doors! 

Stained & Varnished 
  
Before works

Sanded smooth

Stained & varnished

Doors before works

Stained

How I dealt with some of my difficult customers

Well where do I begin, we see on our televisions all the time about poor quality workmen and how bad they are.

Well, what about bad customers?  We never see anything about this topic, do we?

I shall give you some real examples, of just a few of my let’s say, delightful clients.

Client One:

One potential client always sticks in my mind that took place years ago, I was asked to visit the new client in the evening, my time my expense!  So I went off on my little moped to visit, I found the road but not the house as it did not have a number only a house name, in a posh neighbourhood, after going up and down the road several times and in the dark I eventually found the house name partially hidden in the undergrowth, this made me late for my appointment time.

I rang the doorbell and was greeted by a lady; she was very rude to me from the moment I stepped over the door Ok!  I was a little late but if the sign was in clear view or a number showing there would not have been a problem.

The lady seemed to become from rude to ignorant and eventually, I got to see the furniture, well I took one look at the piece and thought no this lady is not the kind of customer for me.

She asked me for my advice, regarding her furniture, and I told her that there was no way in this world, I would wish to work on her furniture and headed for the front door.

Her husband looked at me as if to say that she had deserved my remarks, and I promptly left never to return. 

Lesson for the day!  Ignorance is bliss.

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Client Two:

Another potential client called me up to view his furniture; I went to visit with my colleague and on arrival, we were greeted and shown into a darkened room to view an old wooden headboard, well a quick glance around the still darkened room, revealed an elderly lady sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, what a surprise we had, well I had visions of a scene from the film psycho in the Bates Motel.

I looked at the headboard which had a worm patch in the polished finish, I gave the client my price for taking the item away and returning after completion, and I was told by the client how much he wished to pay me per hour and it was not very much!  Well, I thought quickly and proceeded to leave I turned and said that “I only do serious work for serious people” A classic I know, and off the top of my head!  My colleague still reminds me of this event and we still have a good laugh about it from time to time.

Lesson for the day!  Don’t tell the working person, what you think you want to pay them.

Client Three:

Do you want more?  Of course, you do.

Here’s another, once again I was called to visit a lady about her Dining table; the table had ring marks etc.   I went off on my moped again this time I was on time.

I rang the bell and as from my last story the lady began to be rude to me, she said in a satirical voice where is your van!!!  Well, I thought quickly and replied “If I have a van will it make me a better French polisher”?  This took the lady by surprise, I have a workman with a brain, she did not know what to say except come in and take a look at her table.

After she settled down she changed and became very polite and even made me a cup of tea.

I left her house with the knowledge that she had understood just how rudeness does not always work.  Upon completion of the job the lady I must say was really a nice person however, perhaps a little misguided. Lesson for the day!  Don’t judge a person by their appearance, judge them on their skills.

Client Four:

Now, this client tried to as we say here in the UK con me!  Cheat me, now let me explain.

Again I turned up to view a set of Dining chairs I have forgotten just how many in the set perhaps six.  Well, let’s say that four of the chairs had loose joints and needed to be taken away for a full repair.

I was given the approval to carry out the works, I think it was four of the chairs that were taken to my workshop where they were repaired to a high standard and dully delivered back to the client he was very pleased with my efforts was paid and left.

About one or two weeks later I received a telephone call from the client “Saying that the chairs I had repaired had become loose etc”.

Well, I went over to see what had happened and what could be done to rectify the situation.

I turned the chairs upside down to see if they were the same ones that I had worked on, the client looked at me when I said to him, “Are you sure that these were the ones I had repaired”.  Astonished by this he replied, “Yes these are the ones”.

I repeated my question again, “Are you sure that these were the ones”?

“Yes, I am sure he said” I looked at him and said that you are lying to me, as these are not the same chairs; these are different ones and have never been touched by me.

Well, he did not know how I knew he was lying!  I shall tell you!

Whilst I was repairing the chairs I individually name stamped them with my late Fathers’ name stamp, this leaves an impression in the wood that only I could have known about, and when I pointed this stamped name out he could not deny that he had told me a lie.

He had the cheek to ask me if I would proceed to repair the loose chairs I politely told him no thanks.  “He said that was very clever” And I replied I have to be clever, so as to outsmart people like you!

Lesson for the day!  If given the chance to come clean don’t lie and make things worse for yourself.

If you have enjoyed reading this, just hit the word comment below and a dialogue box will open for you to leave a message.
Thanks for reading. 
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Client Five:

 

Beware of old ladies!

I remember once I visited a very elderly lady that was living in an expensive care home in my neighbourhood, she showed me a small circular wine table with the usual marks, wear and tear.

We agreed on a price and I took the table away to be done.

I worked very hard to make sure that the table looked nice and that there could be no problems upon return.

Well, my colleague took the table back for me, I told him how much the works cost so as to know what amount to expect, and when he arrived I received a phone call from him saying “That the lady was shall we say a trickster”  As she deliberately underpaid him on the amount of money.

He was worried that if he was to force the point about payment, she may well collapse on the floor, and he would be blamed for causing her to do so.

So he left her home and I was short-changed by a very smart old lady.

Lesson for today!  Beware not all old ladies are honest.

Once again I hope that you have enjoyed reading this?  If so let me know.

Just click on the word comment below and it will open up a dialogue box for you to leave a message.

Thank you for reading.

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 Client Six:
 

Another classic!

A client asked me to work on several items of her furniture, the works turned out fine, and whilst placing the items back in the clients home, I had to just pop out of the room for a few minutes, upon returning to the room I heard the client complaining to my colleague that he had broken a carved wooden Elephant how strange I thought.

Well I thought we all have accidents from time to time, so I listened to what the client had to say then I asked my colleague for his side of the story, and he said “That he had not touched the Elephant” upon hearing this I picked up the Elephant very carefully and took a close look at it and I could see several lines of old glue, this showed me that it had been broken in several places in the past.

Now with this conclusive evidence, the client could say nothing more on the subject.

Seems she was trying for a free repair.

Lesson for the day!

Remember Elephants never forget!

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Client Seven:

Patience is a virtue.

This story is about a customer that called me up one day to price her Dining table for French polishing well, as usual, I went to visit the potential customer and gave her a price and came away with the thought that this might just become another job for me!

I did not have to wait long before the phone rang to give me permission to go ahead with the work, so on the pickup day I went off with my colleague in his van, and upon arrival, I took the Dining table apart for ease, as I only needed to work on the top.

Then whilst taking the top off the lady “Asked me about another table in the front room,” so in I go to have a look and it turned out to be an oval coffee table, again she “Asked the price and that was duly accepted and she said that I could take this away whilst we were there in the house.”

Before I moved the coffee table I asked “How she was going to manage to eat her food without any tables?”  “She replied don’t worry I have a table in the garden that I can use,” I thought hang on I, “Asked are you sure you can manage?”  And the lady again replied “That’s fine” she then asked as we were leaving “How long will the works take?” A fair question so I replied “At least two weeks.”

So away they went back to my workshop.

After about seven days later, the lady phoned me to say that “She was annoyed that her tables work not yet ready,” when I explained “That it had not been two weeks yet” she replied, “That she was going to sue me!”  “I asked why?” “She said that she had nowhere to be able to have her meals and that she would have to move out of her house as a result”

So I “Said that she will just have to sue me.”

I thought to myself because I can’t just magic how long or how complex the job might be until I actually start the work.

I completed the two tables within the time span and when dry they were taken back to her home, the lady was very happy with the work that I had done for her, however, I was very sceptical of her as you might imagine.

This is the first time I have ever come across a customer like this, and hope I don’t ever come across another like it again.

You see you don’t just have to be a French polisher!  It takes a great deal more perhaps a course in psychology might just do the trick.

Thanks for reading.  Feedback, always welcome.

Varnish application

Varnish application.

This door was varnished with a satin finish

Today!  Let’s talk about varnish application, well to be able to achieve a good varnished finish, it is important to start with a well-prepared surface.

I have covered how to sandpaper wood, this can be found under the heading (Wood finishing stages a brief guide on this Blog).

Equipment what type of brush should I use?  I find the best brushes to use are those made from pure bristle as the hairs are very soft and therefore when applying varnish using even strokes and not over-brushing will give the best results.

What type of varnish to use?  Well, again it depends on what your project is and what you expect from your varnish.

Should you be varnishing wood on a boat then you would need a varnish designed for marine use that will stand up to the elements of the sea, such as salt and the harsh weather conditions.  So take time and do the research to find a suitable product for the job.

For exterior doors again a good quality exterior varnish should last for years if sufficient coats are applied and subject to proper preparation has taken place.

It is no good trying to expect to get a good finish unless you have put in the hard work during preparation.

For exterior doors and woodwork, I would suggest four coats of varnish with a very light smoothing down in between coats. 

Your surface must be dust-free, if it is not you may find that you will encounter problems like cratering and blistering on the surface.

I prefer to dilute the first coat with white spirits as this will help the varnish to sink into the grain and in turn, will create a good foundation for the subsequent coats to bond.

As with all wood finishing products take care whilst using, keep off your skin and protect your eyes.

Varnishes referred to are white spirit based and not to be confused with cellulose lacquers and other types of wood treatments.

Thanks for reading!  For any remarks just click on the comments tab below.

One year Anniversary of my Blog today!

One year Anniversary of my Blog today!

Well, it has now been One Year today! Since I first started my blog, I never could have imagined that it would have spread around the world like it has, with viewers from 54 Countries and growing.

My Blog has had at the time of writing this 4,931 page views.

It has been a year of both enjoyment and hard work, to keep up with my Blog however, it is always worth it as and when I receive a few kind words and learn that my information has been of use to some of you out there throughout the world.

I hope to keep writing interesting articles about French polishing and wood-finishing as there is obviously a demand for this unique subject.

My information is taken from my own experience and not copied from other sources, therefore, first hand.

I hope that you will continue to come back to my Blog from time to time just to see what new and interesting things I have to say!

Should you have any questions that you feel I might be able to help you with? Just leave a comment and I will do my best to answer you.

I know that translation could be a problem, however; you might like to use one of the internet translation websites to help you to transfer your language into English.

Thanking you for your kind support and encouragement.

Regards,

Andrew.

How to achieve a distressed look!

How to achieve a distressed look!

This had distressed replaced timber!

This assumes that your wood does not have any previous finish or coating.

Smooth the surface with a fine grade sanding paper, now you are ready to start.

To get that lightly distressed and dented look, you will need a piece of rock or concrete is best I think as they have uneven surfaces, just look for where you think the heavily worn areas would be on your furniture and imagine that if you were to have used that piece of furniture for many years what areas would show the most wear and tear?

Then once you have established these areas, then you should concentrate on the distressing, with the rock/concrete gently at first strike the surface of the wood do this a couple of times then stop and have a look at the result.

If you are happy with the result then continue to remember don’t overdo it as it will look “Over the top” as we say here in the UK.

Then once you have completed all of the distressing processes, take a fresh look have you distressed around the feet of your item?  This is where most damage occurs due to vacuum cleaners bashing into the feet/legs of furniture etc.

If you are now satisfied with your efforts, then you are ready to stain the furniture either your or your clients have chosen colour.

Apply the stain evenly over the entire surface and remember to dry off the stain in the direction of the grain.  I have seen so many people leaving the stain wet and this makes for a streaky stained surface.

Once dry, you are now ready to re-stain over in certain areas where you might like to create a shaded appearance.

If this is the case then re-stain in those areas but use a clean paintbrush to remove the excess stain instead of a rag, just use the brush like a comb to stroke the drying stain in the direction of the grain and wipe the excess stain from the brush onto a cloth.

This way you will ensure that you don’t take off too much stain and just leave enough on the surface to give you a very nice shaded effect.

Should you wish to add a dark ring mark, then why not!  Just use an old cup?  Not your best china!  Dip the base of the cup into the stain don’t over-wet it then just gently set the cup onto the surface and leave for a short while to allow for the stain to sink into the surface.

It is best if you don’t wobble when you place the cup down, for if this happens you will of course get an off-centre ring mark.

Now you are ready for sealing the wood grain with shellac sanding sealer, and then the bodying up and finishing using either French polish or lacquer.  If using lacquer use cellulose sanding sealer.

I would suggest that you practise on some scrap timber first, so as to get the feel of things, and that way if you mess up you won’t get into trouble.

Once again I hope that this will be of some use to you?  If so hit the comment tab below and leave a message.

Thanks for reading.

Why did I become a French polisher?

 Why did I become a French polisher?

Well for me it all begins with School, I was never very happy with the Schools that I attended, the teachers I thought, did not have the patience or I think for some of them even the knowledge to be able to teach.

Looking back I remember if I was struggling with a subject the teacher would call me out and I would have to stand in front of the blackboard and stay there until I could come up with an answer.

Despite the embarrassment caused by this, It did no good for my self-esteem.

I found that the only subjects that I did reasonably well in were the ones that I enjoyed and thus metalwork and woodwork.

I loved to make things with my hands, as I could have an end product that I could be proud of.

I found that the teachers of craft subjects were much more understanding of pupils that showed an interest in their lessons and for me, this was certainly the case.

When the woodwork lesson came around I would be very keen to make an object and then take it home for safekeeping.

I loved cutting the wood and the smell of the pine timber that seemed to be used perhaps due to its soft density.

As my School days were to come to an end I had to make a choice what field of work to go into.

And with poor academic achievement, I was dealt limited choices in my career decisions, my School prior to me leaving set up careers advice day I did attend the day and looked at all of the advice and information on display, I was keen to look for any company’s stand that had any connection with woodwork, I saw a stand from Harrods Ltd, and at that time I did not know about Harrods and just what a distinguished company it was and still is.

Well I asked the Harrods representatives if they had any positions that involved woodwork and the answer was yes they did, with this in mind I wrote to the personal department not really expecting a reply well finally I did get a reply from them saying that they had a position for an apprentice French polisher in their Cabinet factory in South Kensington, I thought yes perhaps French polishing might just be a little easier than woodwork.

I signed the apprenticeship form that bound me to Harrods for four and half years, I was keen to take on this challenge and nothing was going to stop me.

I was fortunate to work with some truly skilled craftsmen, and looking back it was to be a great opportunity and grounding to be able to develop my skills and learn from some of the best craftsmen around.

My apprenticeship I think was not an easy one as I had to do all of the very worst jobs like emptying the rubbish bins, sweeping up the workshop, going to do errands for the polishers.

There were days when I thought that I could not go on with this apprenticeship and would often want to give up, but talking to my Father he would encourage me to stick at it as he used to say “If you learn a trade no one can take that skill away from you” How true that turned out to be.

I can remember one of the French polishers saying to me “If you want to learn this trade you had better settle down and stop messing around” When I returned home, I thought about what I had been told and that was the turning point I changed for the better and learned as much as I could from all of the polishers, their techniques skills and them adapt them to suit me.

Time passed and the day came when I was to complete my apprenticeship.

In those days a new apprentice was expected to leave and gain more experience elsewhere this is what I did I was to leave Harrods and move to another company to learn their methods and skills once again.

I eventually returned to Harrods and was employed now as an adult and treated with respect, this was very refreshing for me and some of the French polishers that had taught me were still there, it is those craftsmen that I owe my gratitude.  I hope this will inspire you!
Thank you for reading.
Regards,
Andrew.

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