Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

A. G. Maisey · 22nd March 2022, 10:19 PM

I had a look at that youtube clip Rick.

You see the way the demonstrator is applying the shellac? He's working with the grain the whole way.

OK, he's got some sort of finish, but in applying any polish to wood and applying by working with the grain is something that you just don't do.

By using the figure of eight application method you're getting a deposit of the polish material into the grain. Typically you'd start in the top left hand corner and work in that figure of eight pattern either across or down.

I was taught to use the polish by taking it from an open container --- like a saucer --- and just dipping the rubber into it, you can continue working without stopping if the polish is right there just to use, instead of stopping, applying to the rubber from a bottle, then starting again.

Also using balled up cloth as the stuff inside the rubber is really not a professional way to work.

There are probably a million ways to apply shellac, I was taught one way starting when I was about 8 or 9 years old, and I've known a few professional polishers since then. The blokes who get paid to do the job all seem to use the way I was taught, but with minor variations.

22nd March 2022, 10:19 PM	#11
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,746	I had a look at that youtube clip Rick. You see the way the demonstrator is applying the shellac? He's working with the grain the whole way. OK, he's got some sort of finish, but in applying any polish to wood and applying by working with the grain is something that you just don't do. By using the figure of eight application method you're getting a deposit of the polish material into the grain. Typically you'd start in the top left hand corner and work in that figure of eight pattern either across or down. I was taught to use the polish by taking it from an open container --- like a saucer --- and just dipping the rubber into it, you can continue working without stopping if the polish is right there just to use, instead of stopping, applying to the rubber from a bottle, then starting again. Also using balled up cloth as the stuff inside the rubber is really not a professional way to work. There are probably a million ways to apply shellac, I was taught one way starting when I was about 8 or 9 years old, and I've known a few professional polishers since then. The blokes who get paid to do the job all seem to use the way I was taught, but with minor variations.