Time to finish again

**Bob Schmidt** · May-09-2022, 12:37pm

I am about to finish the A5 I built and would like to do a french polish on it. If I use alcohol based stains on it to do the sunburst, what is the best way to seal it so the hand rubbing don't pull the stain?

**rcc56** · May-09-2022, 1:48pm

I don't know whether to answer this or not, since my French polish experience is confined to repairs rather than builds. But I do work with colors from time to time, so here goes:

1. Let your stains cure for several days.
2. Apply one coat of fairly thin shellac, rubbing as little as possible, and overlapping as little as possible. If you're doing a sunburst, I might work from the inside out in an expanding circle. If I didn't like what I saw, I would change to straight-line strokes.
3. Let cure at least 24 hours. Repeat.
4. Wait some more. Repeat once more if necessary. By now, you might be able to do one coat early in the day, and a second coat in the evening.
5. When you feel that the surface is sufficiently sealed, wait some more. Then you will be able to polish in your normal manner.

My experience with colors and rubbed shellac is that time is your friend, and hurrying is your enemy. How long to wait between steps? My tendency tis double the drying time between steps when working with colors until you start to get a really good build.

Others with experience starting from a raw wood surface will have to comment, but you might want to apply one very thin coat of shellac to the raw wood before you start staining and let cure overnight before you start staining. This might give the stain something to bite into, and also may help you to avoid blotchiness from uneven absorbtion of the stain.

When in doubt, get some test boards and try a couple of different approaches. Write down your techniques on the test board so you are sure of what method you used on that particular piece of wood.

**amowry** · May-09-2022, 2:06pm

If you have access to spray equipment, spraying a few sealer coats of shellac is the way to go.

**Bob Schmidt** · May-09-2022, 3:19pm

OK thanks, I do have spray equipment. I guess light coats from a touch up gun is best?

**sunburst** · May-09-2022, 6:27pm

Originally Posted by irishmando

...I guess light coats from a touch up gun is best?

Light coats from whatever spray equipment you have. First coat just a mist that does not "flow". It's OK if it's rough and dusty feeling, it is not OK if it runs or sags because it will move color if it does.