Flattening the Shellac

[@EricMeyerMaker]

This video was incredibly helpful.

[@timothykillen3742]

Eric, I'm glad that this helped
Tim

[@cobar5342]

Thank you for an interesting insight

[@ef2b]

You said that when you have an open grain wood like mahogany, you apply shellac and sand repeatedly over several days. When you do that, do you leave the sanding dust on and apply shellac right over it? Does that help fill the grain faster? Or, is that a bad idea in your experience? I've seen people both for and against it and wondered what your experience is. Would you do this with walnut, for example?

[@killenwood]

I don't leave sawdust after sanding - I vacuum before applying oil or shellac. If you want to fill the grain, use a filler. Or many times, I just keep applying shellac coats day after day, flattening each day with sandpaper. Then the shellac actually becomes the filler.
Tim

[@jonbates501]

What grit sandpaper are you using?

[@killenwood]

I use 320 when flattening shellac. I also use 320 when flattening the series of French Polishing days.

[@catherinekoch3735]

Aren't you always supposed to sand with the grain?

[@killenwood]

In general you would sand with the grain. In this video I’m not doing a final sanding rather flattening the shellac. It is helpful to swirl the sandpaper. There are many more stages to this French polish so any scratches are eventually filled and smoothed.
Tim

[@jessicarichie6848]

What grit sandpaper?

[@timothykillen3742]

I use 320 or 400….

[@jessicarichie6848]

@@timothykillen3742 im too new to do a French polish but can i sand like that then go over with an arm r seal?