Tougher wax over french polish

[JoelVDM]

Hi everyone,

I'm working on a box/plinth for a vintage 70's turntable, made from redgum, silver-ash and figured taz myrtle. I'm finishing by FPing, but I'm wondering if there are any waxes that are recommended to go over the shellac to impart a more durable surface but keeping the shine?

And another question (just came to mind :) ). The shellac clogs my wet-n-dry like mad when I cut back between coats. I'm having to scrape the paper on the back of a hacksaw blade every 20 seconds or so, and soak the paper in metho to clear it. Any suggestions for cutting back shellac between paddings that isnt so painful?

Many thanks in advance for any help,
Joel.

[Greg Q]

I have never sanded between coats of FP. The metho will dissolve somewhat the previous layer, allowing the new layer to bond. If at the end you need to refine the surface you can wait for a day or so for the shellac to harden, but you'll still get loading on the paper. (I usually use mineral oil/pumice to polish the shellac, but recently I've been finishing up with automotive polishing compound then auto wax.

Our sponsor makes highly regarded polishing products and waxes, but I have only used the shellac so far.

Greg (who got his F.P. technique from a book by George Frank, an old school polisher...there may be more modern methods but so far I haven't needed them)