French polish finishing

Patience and elbow grease are the secrets of great French polishing...

Every door is unique, and the natural grain of the wood is permanently changing; solid wood often warps a little with humidity, for example. Wood protector and/or wax gradually nourishes the wood and prevents dramatic change.

To be sure of a perfectly natural French Polish finish, we never treat wood with a fill-in varnish; this would give an artificial shine which would eventually fade. We apply several of wood protector and/ore wax with a large, flat brush.

Sanding and color matching

There are two essential preliminary phases: sanding and color matching. Wood must be sanded in stages with with fine sand paper - 100 followed by 220 - always in the direction of the grain. Modern elements, such as the frame and any grafts, then need to be matched for type and color; we use all natural products for frames and grafts.

Wax and wood protector

Wax or wood protector is applied using a wide flat brush. For a perfect finish, 3 coats must be applied:

Communicating doors and closet doors
Use only wax. Apply a first coat and allow it to dry; apply a second coat, allow it to dry and then polish with steel wool 000; apply a third coat, allow it to dry andthen polish with a cloth or a brush.

Entrance doors
Doors which are exposed to the weather need a wood protector; apply 3 coats, allowing each to dry before applying the next.
Doors which are not exposed to the weather need both wood protector and wax; apply 2 coats of wood protector, allowing each to dry before applying the next, and then apply a coat of wax and polish with a cloth or a brush.

Annual maintenance
Apply a coat of wax every year to protect your door.