FRENCH POLISHING.
The Polish Used.—The oil or wax polish was used for all kinds of furniture before the introduction of French polish, the invention of which, as its name implies, is due to French cabinet-makers. It was first introduced into England about seventy years since; some time elapsed, however, before it was brought to a high state of perfection. At first apprentices or porters were entrusted with the polishing, they having been usually called upon to do the wax polishing; but in course of time it was found that its successful adoption implied the possession of considerable skill, and it came to be regarded as an art of no little importance—so much so, that the early polishers who had perfected themselves used to work in a shop with closed doors, lest the secret of their success should be discovered. From that time polishing became a separate branch of the cabinet business.
The following original recipe as first invented has been extracted from a French work, the Dictionnaire Technologique, not, however, for its usefulness (it having gone into disuse many years ago), but as a matter of curiosity:—
"French Polish."
| Gum sandarach | 14 ounces 2 drachms |
| Gum mastic in drops | 7 " 2 " |
| Shellac (the yellower the better) | 14 " 2 " |
| Alcohol of 0.8295 specific gravity | 3 quarts and 1 pint. |
"Pound the resinous gums, and effect their solution by continued agitation, without the aid of heat; if the woods are porous, add seven ounces one drachm of Venice turpentine. If an equal weight of ground glass be added, the solution is more quickly made, and is also otherwise benefited by it. Before using, the wood should be made to imbibe a little linseed-oil, the excess of which should be removed by an old flannel."
Notwithstanding the improvement made upon the old processes by this new method, it was by no means considered to be perfect, for the polish was found to impart its brown tinge to the light-coloured woods, especially in marqueterie work, and to deteriorate their appearance. It will be readily seen that it was a great desideratum among polishers to render shellac colourless, as, with the exception of its dark-brown hue, it possesses all the properties essential to a good polish or spirit varnish in a higher degree than any of the other resins.
In 1827 the Society of Arts came forward with its valuable aid and offered a premium of a gold medal, or thirty guineas, "for a polish or varnish made from shell or seed-lac, equally hard, and as fit for use in the arts as that at present prepared from the above substance, but deprived of its colouring matter." After numerous experiments, this long-felt want was perfectly attained by Dr. Hare, who was awarded the premium. His method was as follows: "Dissolve in an iron kettle one part of pearlash in about eight parts of water; add one part of shell or seed-lac, and heat the whole to ebullition. When the lac is dissolved, cool the solution, and impregnate it with chlorine till the lac is all precipitated. The precipitate is white, but its colour deepens by washing and consolidation; dissolved in alcohol, lac, bleached by the process above mentioned, yields a polish or varnish which is as free from colour as any copal varnish." At the present time shellac is bleached by filtration over animal charcoal.
Numerous experiments were afterwards made in the manufacture of polishes; several chemists devoted their attention to its manufacture, and an improved polish was soon produced which was used for a number of years. The following are its proportions:—
| Shellac | 14 ounces. |
| Sandarach | ¾ ounce. |
| White resin | ¾ " |
| Benzoin | ¾ " |
| Gum thus | ¾ " |
| O.P. finishing spirit | ½ a gallon. |