French Polishing
You may have a French polished piece of furniture needing some attention – water marks may have developed over the years or hot candle wax may have damaged it?
Perhaps you have a piece of furniture and you’re not sure what type of finish it has – is it a French polish, waxed or modern spray finish?
Call Mike to chat through what you have and he will be happy to suggest restoration options – he will suggest a finish most appropriate for your furniture. An estimate of the cost is always provided for your consideration.
Telephone 01242 262549 or email your photographs using the contact form.
French polished Georgian tripod table – mahogany with ebony stringing
About French Polishing
French Polishing is the best way to finish an antique, it brings out the natural colours of the wood and preserves the patination. Some care is needed when using a French polished surface – use of coasters/mats to protect the surface from moisture and heat is recommended. However, the beauty of a French polished surface is that should a small area get damaged, for example in a mark on a table top, then that particular patch can be repaired without having to refinish the entire surface of the table.
French polish is a natural polish developed over 200 years ago and uses Shellac (taken from the bark of trees) combined with methylated spirit. It can take many hours to apply the polish, using a pad made of wadding and linen to ‘push’ the polish into the grain of the wood. The result is a magnificent finish with depth and subtle shine – as seen with top quality antique furniture – which improves over the years and can benefit from occasional waxing with pure beeswax.