French Polishing problem- pumice stays white in walnut

[Patrick McCarthy]

Trying to FP a walnut table top (Steve Latta Federal Table). Used Vijay's pumice technique but now I have white pores which don't color or go clear with the seal coat . . . . I guess I assumed it would magically dissolve . . . .
I tried a small section with garnet shellac but it doesn't absorb the color either.
i like the smooth surface but the white pores are disconcerting.

What are my options, or how did I screw up this time?

Also, I am wondering IF on another piece I can fine sand the wood, dust off the surface but not wipe or use compressed air, and then use a seal coat of shellac to lock the sanding residue into the pores. Am I nuts? Courting disaster?

No need to be gentle, just get me back on the right path, please. Thank you, Patrick

[Scott DelPorte]

Hi Patrick,
I'm not familiar with Vijay's method, but it sounds like it uses quite a bit of pumice if its leaving white inside pores. When I fill using pumice, its just a tiny bit on the pad so its not really filling the pores with pumice, but it makes like a thin slurry on the pad that gets wiped into the pores. Mine may not be the greatest method because it takes a long time to fill using pumice on open pore woods like rosewood or walnut. Not sure what suggestion to give you now if you have pores filled with white other than to sand down a little and restart with less pumice or a different pore fill method. Others may know of better ideas for ways to strip the fill and avoid re-sanding.

For your second question, not sure what you are after finish wise, but in the guitar building world, many people will pore fill using faster methods than pumice, then french polish over the pore filled surface.

Thanks
Scott

[Patrick McCarthy]

Scott, thank you.
on one of the guitar posts (when I Googled before posting my question) I saw a reference to using egg whites . . . But I am messy enough already . . . .
Thanks you, patrick

[Patrick McCarthy]

Evening update: the pumice is still noticeable in the pores, but much less so the shinier the surface gets . . .

[Scott Holmes]

After using pumice; the traditional next step was rottenstone which is black. There are much better products available now-a-days. I'm sure if the old timers 100+ years ago had the stuff we have today; they would toss the pumice and rottenstone.

[Wayne Lomman]

Patrick, it sounds like a bit too much use of pumice to me. Using pumice takes forever and possibly you thought you were doing it wrong because it did not seem to work as you expected. From your description it sounds like otherwise you are doing it OK.

I was taught 100% traditional polishing but that was reserved for top end restorations. In reality, we always used a proportion of simple one part polyurethane wood filler with the stain to fill the grain.

Given your update, hopefully the problem will resolve itself. It is your call as to whether you keep working at it or sand back.

As to the second part of your post, if you leave the dust in, it will just pull out as you start to polish and drive you nuts. Use a recognised grain filler instead.

Don't be afraid to change things like the filler material. Polishing basics remain the same,but the details have evolved over time and also location. As Scott says, the old timers would have loved the materials we have available now. Good luck with it. Cheers

[Patrick McCarthy]

Scott and Wayne , thank you. Seems maybe I didn't look far enough into grain fillers, and just assumed the old way was best . . . All the while forgetting we are in the 21st century. Appreciate your comments, patrick

[kelsey hogue]

I read that back in the day they mixed fine sawdust from the piece being finished with the pumice and rubbed it into the pores with a shellac rubber as the first step. Mix both the saw dust and pumice in a piece of cotton t-shirt and smack it on the piece of wood to be finished a few times. It will leave a very light amount on the wood.