What RPM do you apply friction polish?

[Bill Wyko]

To get a good build, what rpm do you apply friction polish, what do you use to apply it and how long between coats? I've been using it lately and I like it. I just want to get the most out of it. Thanks guys.

[Brian Effinger]

Bill - I've used shellawax a number of times on pens, and I usually have the piece spinning somewhere around 2000 rpm or so. This is after I slather a little on with the lathe off. If you're looking to put something like this on one of those beautiful ashtrays, you might want to slow it down a little since it is larger.
Of course I could be doing it wrong. It's happened before ;)

[David Walser]

Bill,

Friction polishes are very forgiving. You want to slather it on your turning rotating the piece by hand (so the friction polish won't be thrown off to decorate your wall and face). Then, with a soft paper towel wipe off the excess and turn the lathe up until you generate some heat while rubbing the paper towel against the piece. The heat cures the finish and you can apply another coat almost immediately. If I get a run, I wait a few minutes before sanding because the finish may not have cured where it's too thick.

On small pieces, you may want to turn the lathe all the way up. On larger pieces, you may want to keep the speed down some. But the appropriate speed is not set by the friction polish -- it's set by how fast you feel comfortable having the lathe turn while you are holding a piece of paper towel against the piece.

Note: I referred to using a paper towel for frictioning on the finish. Others use a soft cotton rag. A cotton rag may produce a better finish, but my shop teacher told me not to use rags around spinning machinery and I can't bring myself to violate that rule. YMMV.

[David Drickhamer]

Like David says, friction finishes are forgiving. Speed doesn't seem to matter much as long as you can create enough heat. I also apply it with a paper towel. I've found that a friction coat finish is not durable and have since changed to a BLO/CA finish for pens. Sometimes I'll apply a friction finish on top the CA. I like the feel of the friction finish better but CA is by far more durable.

[Dennis Peacock]

Hey Bill.....I use the setting......Wide Open Baby. ;)

I crank it up as fast as it will go and start applying the finish. But then, that's just me. :)

[Chris Huybregts]

In my minor experience, I too keep the lathe pretty fast. I apply it with it off, hand turn the piece, then power it up with whatever setting i was turning at, for pens, that's 2600 or higher.

[Rick Prosser]

Not much experience here either, but I turn up the lathe as much as is comfortable - depending on the piece (don't want anything to fly apart). I use the paper towel that applied the polish, and hold it reasonably tight against the piece until it glosses up. When I remove the paper towel, the polish that was on the paper has hardened. If there is not a glaze of polish on the paper, I assume it has not cured on the piece.

I have noticed that the polish will turn dark if too much heat for too long is applied.:o

[Dean Thomas]

I have a fair amount of experience with various friction polishes both on lathe and off. French Polish is a shellac finish that has been used on fine furniture for eons. It's good stuff and the real basis for our turning friction polishes.

Speed is of course going to depend on diameter of the piece you're polishing. Generally speaking, though, you've gotten good advice so far. More than anywhere else in woodturning, the adage "Speed is your friend" is really true. Slow is fine for applying, but slow speeds do not generate the needed friction to begin the curing process critical to making it work!

Thinnish coats, please. Get a task light in place so that you can see a definite reflection on the top of the area you're finishing. If you use 4 layers of paper towel, you can still feel the heat that you generate. Apply the liquid, apply speed, apply the paper towel that you used to put the liquid on. DO NOT USE A DRY TOWEL. This is what's called a padding process. It is the fumes and residue of the liquid on the towel that does the polishing.

Yes, as Rick told you, you can burn/darken the polish by applying too much pressure for too long. Too much heat can allegedly make the finish change chemically so that it will not be as strong as it might be without the burn, so this might not be an "effect" to be pursued; better to stain or dye to attain darkness, IMO. The object for me is to move pretty quickly on the piece, watching the reflection in the new surface. When the polish is first applied, the reflection is kind of blurry or heavily hazy. Your finger(s) applies pressure and move left to right across the entire area being finished, creating enough friction to warm your fingers. VERY warm is okay, but hot enough to have to pull away is NOT good for many woods. As you achieve very warm, you start the curing process. As you move L-R, you see the reflection begin to clarify, to sharpen up. That's a good thing. Most of the time, you'll also see that the haze will follow your finger(s) L-R for a little while. That's pretty normal. Keep moving until that "following haze" goes away and the reflection is totally stable. Time for another coat. Three shellac based coats makes for a pretty good finish for most pieces. You might have a LOT more coats with lacquer based finishes. You can normally put 3 shellac based coats on, one after the other, and complete your finish in one session, pretty much without pause. For example, I use a lot of Mylands FP for Freedom Pens; it's a good quality shellac based finish, IMO. From mounting of squares to unmounting of finished pen parts is 8-12 minutes.

Do not put more coats on until the base coat is totally, totally dry. That means that the following haze has to disappear completely. If you put a sloppy wet coat on over one that is not "cooked" enough, you'll end up removing part or all of the undercooked coat beneath, and then you'll have to remove it all and start over again. Can you figure out how I know this? :)

Also remember that all finishes take time to cure. The "cooking" process described above shortens the normal cure time, in my opinon, maybe by as much as two weeks. Cure time for most lacquer and shellac finishes is around 30 days. "Cured" is after all the solvents are completely gone and any chemical changes have finalized.

One man's observations and opinions. YMMV.

[Dean Thomas]

Addendum to last post/ramble:

Remember that various woods have different tolerances for finishes and for heat. Maple, walnut, and oak are very, very tolerant of some pretty significant friction and the resulting heat. Skinny cross-sections of wood like veneers and the super-thin faces of wooden pens at the joints can be very sensitive. Certain species are also very heat sensitive.

I've personally experienced cracks when getting this sections of cocobolo too warm with friction polish. Cherry doesn't like heat much. It changes color quickly. Some have said they've also experienced checking with too much heat. Box elder is a fun wood because of color, but when it gets thin and overly warm, it makes the wood susceptible to splits. I have a gorgeous SlimLine pen out of flamed box elder with a very annoying crack at the waistband. :( VERY disappointing. Not something that I can give to anyone. Nice for me, nice example of shape and gorgeous wood, but another lesson learned and one that is taught every time a turner wants to look at that pen.

[Burt Alcantara]

I usually friction at the speed I turned. I usually turn and finish using just one speed. I haven't turned anything big enough that required a slow start. However, that will change real soon.

Burt