Wood Preservation

Polishing. Every fine piece of furniture or of woodwork is polished to bring out the beauty of its grain and colouring. The marvellous lustre of .piano cases and rich furniture is due as much to the faithful rubbing with an old rag as to any other trick 54' of the trade. Not just any old rag, but one specialised and mellowed by long years of use. "French polish" is the highest art in the finishing of woods.

Good taste prefers the soft, waxy lustre to the gleaming surface of new varnish. A rag. with rotten stone to dip it in occasionally, and patient, long-continued rubbing, eliminates "the vulgar shine." Soft pine, stained red, varnished, then "pummied" (rubbed with powdered pumice stone), gives a very satisfactory cherry finish.

Wax polishing is a dull finish, made simply by saturating the surface of coarse-grained woods with melted beeswax mixed with turpentine. Rosin added makes a harder surface. One rag rubs in the polish. Another wipes off all excess. A third rag polishes the surface. It is a laborious method, but it pays in utility and looks. Oak dining tables, if varnished, turn white where hot dishes touch them. Wax polishing is not discoloured by heat, so it is preferable.

Oil polishing is very often seen in the finishing of handsome hard pine. As much pure linseed oil as the smoothed surface will absorb; then rub, rub, rub! This brightens the rich orange red of the grain and makes the intricate and beautiful patterns of it stand out with striking clearness through the transparent dressing. A soft lustre follows persistent rubbing. This process is by no means restricted to pine. Any wood with handsome grain warrants the oil finish.

Glaring is a process used in finishing fretwork which cannot be reached by the polishing rag or that is too frail to be rubbed.

Spindles of fancy chairs and cabinets, grilled archways and the like require it, while the rest of the article is polished. Inlay work is often glazed. The preparation is made of some choice gum dissolved in methylated spirits. This enamelling of wood to a china-like finish is comparable to the lacquer work of the Japanese artisans, a secret process which produces, from the milky juice of a tree closely related to our own poison sumach, a coating that resembles patent leather on boxes and innumerable fancy articles made out of the soft, white magnolia wood.