French polishing
Our Bread and Butter
French polishing is Prestige’s bread and butter. They have an overriding focus to offer one of the most reputable French polishing services across the whole of Edinburgh and surrounding areas. It seems to be that French Polishing is a finishing technique that is being used less over the more recent years due to a fast paced demand for furniture like flat pack etc. Prestige still believes in the charm of a well finished piece of traditional wood furniture.
The History of French Polishing
French polishing quickly became by far the most prominent method of wooden furniture finish in the Victorian Era. It was commonly found on more expensive woods like mahogany and would often be the finish found on wooden instruments such as pianos and violins.
The Process
The process of French polishing can be quite time intensive and can often be repetitive. The first stage of the process is to strip the old or preexisting finish from the wood so that the timber is in a bare state. Then, through a process known as “colour matching” they apply a wood bleach that will bring the wood to the colour that you desire. At this stage usually either a shellac finish is applied, which achieves a shiny finish to the wood, or a lacquer finish is applied. A lacquer finish leaves the wood with a matt finished appearance.
What Projects we Work on:
We can treat any wooden projects that you may have in mind but some of the jobs that we see most of are as follows:
- Staircases
- Handrails
- Stair treads
- Doors
Get in Touch
It is our passion bringing your old or dated furniture back to life so please get in touch if you wish to find out more about how we can be of service!