What is a French Polisher?

Answer 1

DID YOU KNOW - There are 4 kinds of French Polisher out there So, be sure to pick the right one for you!

Antique Restorers, whose skills include the 19th century art of Traditional French Polishing, use shellac, alcohol and linseed oil to build up a one coat glossy finish to authentically restore furniture from that period. Discontinued commercially in the 20's in favour of superior cellulose lacquers, applied by spray and worked by hand - with stains, dyes, tints, shades, grain-fillers and stipples - this is the work of the Modern French Polisher.

Modern French Polishers can be found in furniture factories throughout the world, and the variety of finishes they produce can be seen in any good furniture store today. For authentic restoration of 20's Art Deco, to 60's Ercol, to 21st century designer pieces - and everything else in between - you need an experienced Modern French Polisher.

Franchised Repairers train for a few weeks and are taught to disguise minor scratches and dents in wooden furniture along with upholstery repair work. Working in situ and using specialised repair kits, this can be quite effective for minor damage.

Painter & Decorators sometimes pass themselves off as French Polishers. DIY products for sale in the Decorator's Merchants, in the hands of someone skilled with a brush, can be quite acceptable for ordinary internal joinery. But not, of course, for fine furniture, or where a "furniture quality finish" is desired, or if mere ordinary is not for you.