french polishing rosewood box

[astrid]

I am having a hell of a job polishing a small rosewood writing box. I've had to re do 3 times.
The box has a pewter band inlayed 1'' into the edge and when i try to fill in it kicks back, also spots drag.
its veneer and i cant sand back too much because a) the vaneer may blacken b) the banding and c) it will bake the kick back worse.
should I maybe cheat and use danish oil instead?
how was this originaly achieved? did they put the banding in after polishing the top.
I admit i am not the best polisher in the world but small jobs seem harder than big ones.
at the moment ive settled for brushing on 5 thin coats and its passable but im not really happy with it
any tips?
astrid

[MacS]

You seem to be having a lot of troubles in your finishing since you joined the forum, a bit of contructive advise to you. "Think Twice, Finish Once."

There has to be something causing the problem, sometimes we never find the cause, so we come up with a solution to solve the problem. One solution in this case is to put a "barrier" between the substrate and the coating.

Some finishers use a "glue sizing," now you go and earn your dues, and do some research on using glue sizing.

Then come back, and let us know how you make out.

Others, here may also have some advise for you.

MacS

[ubeaut]

Is it NSW or Qld Rosewood if so it's a pain because of the natural oils.

Have seen it actually melt poly off after it had been applied for 10 years.

It also tends to dull shellac and look dead. However if it's palasander, indian or NG rosewood then

[astrid]

thanks neil,
I have got rid of the dragging problem with some judicious sanding.
I dont think it is oz rose wood its at least 120 yo and looks like indian rosewood to me. I thought palasander was like a negative of rosewood, mainly dark with gold streaks.
however like most australian restorers i feel that to identify timber one needs a microscope, a biology degree and a copy of that book put out by the NSW forestry commission to identifying timber .
I am not trying to be clever but one of my friends who owns a highly proffessional workshop laughs when I ask him to identify australian timber and usually referes to it as "bongo" wood
my main prob is the size of it and that i cant fill in the grain with circlular movements because it dosont cure fast enough on the second pass because its too small. i'm leaving whip marks. and also the pewter bands cause a shellac kick back.
how do you fp small jobs? is this a practice issue.

I dont do a lot of full fp finishes as most of my clients prefer a softer look.
can you use size glue under a full french polish?
thanks for your patience
astrid

[ubeaut]

Probably be inclined to fill it with a few well brushed coats of shellac and sand back or a really well colour matched grain filler.

Use a very small rubber and take your movements down in size proportional to the size of the work. If you use your regular size rubber work over the surface once maybe twice then rest it long enough to dry and go again, make sure when you do this to glide the rubber gently onto the surface so as not to scuff the green finish.

I would definitely be using a little paraffin oil to give you plenty of slip and allow for more working time with the rubber before it starts to pull. Working with a slightly dryer rubber could help with the kick back.

Hope this is of some extra help.

Cheers - Neil

[astrid]

thank you neal,
you confirm my worst fears
im too impatient.

a little less is a lot more

thanks a lot
astrid