BYO: French polish grain filling

jared

You are very welcome. I advise against pre-mixed. It can be just fine, but it can also contain extra ingredients you don't want and there is no way of knowing how long it has been on the shelf. A fresh batch always works way better in my experience. I get my flakes from Mohawk Finishing (I'm in Vancouver, Canada) but many good paint stores will have them. If you are buying online, LMII has a good selection of flakes. Lee Valley tools too.

When you mix your own you can also control the 'cut' or ratio of shellac to alcohol. Stronger and weaker solutions can be useful at different stages of the french polish process. You can also use different colors of flakes for different purposes. The LMII tutorial gives some info on types of flakes as well as cut/ratio.

Pure ethanol is best if you can get it. It is quite tightly controlled in this country and it is illegal in my province, but some Canadian provinces (Alberta and Manitoba) and US states have looser approaches. "Everclear 190" will work just dandy. Find a friend who works at a distillery or someone who works in a genetics lab and you can perhaps get your hands on pure 'food grade' ethanol. Methyl alcohol works just fine too and I use it when I can't get ethanol, but you should use in a ventilated space. Methyl fumes can be harmful, even in the very small quantities used in FP.

Bones

Ok thanks Jared. I'll check the LMII tutorial.