How to Pad on The Shellac?

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1. Making a pad

Take a piece of wool roughly 3 inches square and fold the corners toward the center, stretching the wool with each fold. Then squeeze the wool pad into an oval and add a few drops of 2.5- to 3.5 pound-cut shellac. Disperse the shellac throughout the wool by crumpling the pad in your hand, then place it in the middle of a single thickness of coarse linen. Add several drops of alcohol to the pad.

2. Preparing the pad for French polishing

Gather the linen around the ball of wool and twist the linen until the pad is held firmly in place. Then tap the pad against the palm of your hand to spread out the shellac and alcohol and form a flat surface. If the pad is too wet, squeeze out the excess liquid. (When not in use, the pad should be stored moist in an airtight container to prevent it from stiffening.)

3. Filling the pores

Apply a sealer coat of shellac with a brush and allow it to dry. (This procedure can be done before making the pad.) Then sprinkle pumice on the workpiece and shake a small amount on the pad. Grip the pad tightly between your fingers and thumb and work the pumice into the wood with any of the strokes shown in the diagram below; choose the one that proves most comfortable. Keep the pad moving while it is on the surface to prevent the alcohol on the pad from leaving a mark on the wood. Pay particular attention to the edges so as not to leave them untouched. At first, the pumice will sound scratchy as you rub. The more the pores fill, the less scratchy the pumice will sound. Continue to pad, occasionally sprinkling on fresh pumice and adding more alcohol, until the pores are completely filled and the surface has a matte look. Depending on the size of the workpiece, this procedure may require 30 minutes or more. After filling the pores, set the workpiece aside for a day.

4. Building up the film

Prepare a new pad and dab a drop of oil onto it with a finger to provide lubrication for padding the surface. Polish with the same strokes you used to fill the pores. Use light pressure with a wet pad. As the pad dries and the friction increases, apply more pressure. Recharge the pad with shellac and alcohol, as needed. Repeat the process until the look of the finish pleases you and the polishing streaks disappear. Set aside the workpiece for a day . After the shellac has dried you will notice a milky clouding of the surface, as in the upper half of the workpiece in the photo (below). This is the oil used to lubricate the pad; having risen to the surface it must now be removed. Moisten a pad with alcohol and rub the surface with long strokes (or polish with a fine glazing compound) until the oil disappears. This will reveal the final look of the French polish as shown in the lower half of workpiece in the photo.