Pictures From An Exhibition (of Wood Finishing)

One of the problems(?) of teaching workshops is that I often get so involved that I fail to take adequate pictures of the goings on.  In the case of the recent wood finishing workshop at the barn I failed to take a single picture, but student Pat took some with her phone and forwarded them on to me.  So, with gratitude to her I present them to you.

Like almost all those who encounter my collection of shellacs, she was captivated.  How could you not be?

One of my demonstrations was cold rubbing wax onto undulating surfaces, then dispersing said wax by melting it with a hair dryer and buffing it with a rag.  (Historically the wax melting would have been accomplished by passing a hot iron over the surface) The result is, to my senses, a pleasing one.

Here is her walnut panel in the early stages of pad polishing, a/k/a/ “French polishing.”  The molten wax grain filling has been completed and the first pass of a loaded shellac pad has been applied.

One of the most effective exercises in the workshop is building up an excellent shellac finish on a 24″ x 48″ plywood panel with a 1″ brush, then polishing out each quarter with differing abrasive/wax regimens.