Successful Friction Polishing
by Alan Holtham

One problem I seem to get more queries on than any other is finishing the work, and in particular getting a high gloss polish. Many beginners assume that there is some mysterious art to a gloss finish, akin to the mystique surrounding French polishing. In fact it is quite a simple process providing you work within the limitations of the material and follow a few basic procedures. You will need some friction polish, sanding sealer and a range of abrasives and lots of patience.
The key to any good surface finish, and particularly a gloss one, is really thorough preparation of the surface before attempting to polish. There is no way that you will get a good finish on poorly prepared work, the assumption that odd defects or tears will be hidden by the polish is completely wrong. In fact the reverse is true and you only end up highlighting the problems, so take your time and get that surface perfect before you start to apply any sort of polish. There are no short cuts here. Try to ensure that the tools leave as good a finish as possible, Picture 1, which in reality means cutting cleanly, rather than scraping if at all possible.
Then when you are happy with the shape, start the sanding process. For this I prefer the cloth backed abrasives, as you can fold them into

tight creases without the abrasive cracking off the backing, and they allow you to get into the fine detail without rounding it over. Mark the grade on the back in some way so you don’t use them out of order, Picture 2. There is no specific grade at which you should begin, it all depends on how good the surface is to start with. As a guide, I would normally start on a piece of spindle turning with something like 240g, but I might need 180g if the surface is very open, or maybe down to 80g on a piece of spalted wood. You have to assess the starting point for yourself, but always try and start as fine as possible or you will put in scratches that are very difficult to remove later. Then work progressively down the grades, I would suggest 180, 240,320, 400 grit is a good progression. If you work down in bigger steps than this you will leave sanding rings. Take your time with this sanding making sure that all areas are covered, but take care not to spoil the sharp detail by oversanding. This is so important to maintain the crispness that immediately distinguishes the beginner from the pro. Use the paper folded tight for this, Picture 3, working into specific areas rather than just applying it in a broad sweep, Picture 4.

Picture 2.

Also it is important to keep the paper moving at all times to avoid any heat build up which can actually cause heat cracks to develop in the end grain, particularly of the fine grain timbers Picture 5. These do not always show up until you apply the first coat and can be quite disfiguring, so don’t press too hard and keep that paper moving to minimise the friction.
When you are satisfied with surface, start the polishing process by applying a coat of sealer. I prefer to use cellulose sanding sealer for this as it dries almost instantly, Picture 6. If you are not keen on cellulose because of the smell you can use a shellac sealer, but this takes about 15 minutes to dry, and to my mind doesn’t penetrate into the surface quite the same. Whatever you use make sure you put it on with a soft cotton cloth as this allows you to rub it well into the surface of the wood, and ALWAYS do it with the lathe stationary. These two points are the key. Sanding sealer doesn’t contain any sort of lubricant to allow it to

be used on a fast spinning workpiece, and you will never get the penetration and evenness on a moving workpiece. Also do rub it well into the surface, it must penetrate the top layers of the wood and not just sit on the surface.
Wipe off the excess, and then with the lathe spinning again, flat off any raised grain with your finest grade of paper. Stop the lathe and apply another coat of sealer. You should notice that this second coat goes on very much more easily as the surface has already begun to seal. The idea is to get a completely even and uniform base onto which we can then apply the polish, Picture 7. Consider this as undercoating and the better and more even the undercoat, the better the topcoat will be. You may need to put on two, three, or maybe even four coats before the surface is completely sealed, but again don’t hurry this process, just keep flatting down in between. De-nib the last coat with 0000 grade wire wool, Picture 8, and you are then ready to polish.

Picture 6.

After first thoroughly shaking the friction polish, apply it with a cloth. This shaking is important as the polish has a high solids content which must be thoroughly mixed, Picture 9. On small articles you can put it straight on to the spinning workpiece, but on larger items it is better to stop the lathe and rub on a coat quickly before starting the lathe again to even it out. Put on a fairly generous application to start with, spreading it evenly over the work with the cloth, applying NO pressure at all at this stage. Then gradually apply gentle pressure to dry the film, and watch as the shine develops, Picture 10. Keep re-coating with the lathe spinning, but applying tiny amounts of polish each time to build up lots and lots of thin coats rather than one thick one. If you apply too much on the subsequent coats all that happens is you dissolve off the previous coat and pull it into a sticky ring, so be very sparing. The more coats you apply the better the finish will be, and then burnish the last coat with a very soft cloth.

The finish is dry straight away, but if you can leave it to harden for several minutes before handling so much the better.
The rich shine you have developed should last for some time, but will dull down a little with constant handling. If you want to maintain the gloss, wipe a tiny amount of carnauba wax onto the spinning work taking care not to scratch the work as the wax is very hard, Picture 11. Using a soft cloth press quite hard to melt and spread a film of wax as the lathe is spinning, reducing the pressure once it is evenly spread. Then burnish this to a mirror like finish, Picture 12. Bear in mind that this is a purely ornamental finish and has no water resistance, use melamine or plastic coating if the work is going to get wiped regularly.
The technique requires a little practice but once mastered gives you a very quick and durable finish, ideal for small decorative turnings. Take your time, use small amounts and you will soon be able to show off that perfect finish!

Picture 10.