Shellac for warangka

A. G. Maisey · 22nd March 2022, 11:57 AM

Anthony, the finish on Javanese wrongkos is traditionally a light french polish. Not a piano finish, Javanese people prefer to be able to read the grain of the wood, so the polish they use is a very light one, that is repolished when it begins to wear.

French polishing is a skill that requires time to learn.

Balinese wrongkos frequently have a burnished finish, which does not use any coating at all.

My approach for the new ones would be to leave the wrongkos as you have received them from the maker.

For the older wrongkos I would use a good quality furniture oil, and when thoroughly dry, I would follow that with good quality wax furniture polish.

If you have any wrongkos that are in a truly poor condition, you might consider a complete re-polish, running through several grades of garnet paper, then steel wool, raise the grain of the wood by steaming and remove the whiskering with 0000 steel wool. Then use Scandinavian oil applied with a cotton wool filled rubber, rub back between coats, probably about 6 coats should be sufficient.

Shellac applied with a brush would be a very poor finish.

Tung oil is not an option.

We do not paint over sunggingan work with any other finish. If the work required sealing, the man who did the sunggingan work would have done it.

22nd March 2022, 11:57 AM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,992	Anthony, the finish on Javanese wrongkos is traditionally a light french polish. Not a piano finish, Javanese people prefer to be able to read the grain of the wood, so the polish they use is a very light one, that is repolished when it begins to wear. French polishing is a skill that requires time to learn. Balinese wrongkos frequently have a burnished finish, which does not use any coating at all. My approach for the new ones would be to leave the wrongkos as you have received them from the maker. For the older wrongkos I would use a good quality furniture oil, and when thoroughly dry, I would follow that with good quality wax furniture polish. If you have any wrongkos that are in a truly poor condition, you might consider a complete re-polish, running through several grades of garnet paper, then steel wool, raise the grain of the wood by steaming and remove the whiskering with 0000 steel wool. Then use Scandinavian oil applied with a cotton wool filled rubber, rub back between coats, probably about 6 coats should be sufficient. Shellac applied with a brush would be a very poor finish. Tung oil is not an option. We do not paint over sunggingan work with any other finish. If the work required sealing, the man who did the sunggingan work would have done it.