3 & 5 Day French Polishing Courses

Our courses cover the french polishing process from start to finish and include the following topics:

Wood Stripping
You will be shown the correct way to strip and prepare an item of
furniture prior to finishing.

Surface Repair Techniques
The various methods employed in disguising marks and blemishes, filling indentations, wood graining, and colouring will be carefully explained.

Staining
The principal types of wood stain will be considered.

Grain Filling
The technique of grain filling will be demonstrated as part of the
preparation for polishing open grained timbers.

French Polishing
The different kinds of french polish will be introduced and every stage of french polishing will be covered in detail from ‘skinning in’
to ‘bodying up’ and final finishing.

Everything you need will be provided on these courses and in addition you will be given a set of course notes to take home with you.

The Five Day Course

The Five Day Course is intended for those requiring a thorough grounding in french polishing and surface repair techniques.Every aspect is considered step by step, and you are given ample opportunity to practise everything that you have learned. Once the basic techniques are mastered you will apply them to items of furniture in order to develop your confidence and expertise.

If you are a professional furniture restorer or an enthusiast wishing to take the subject more seriously, perhaps as a source of income, you will find this course invaluable.We recommend that you bring at least two items of furniture with you.

The cost of this course is £400.00

The Three Day Course

The Three Day Course is our most popular course and operates over a long weekend from Friday to Sunday and also from Wednesday to Friday during the working week. You will be taken through all the stages required to produce a good french polished finish on furniture of your choice.

The various techniques are considered in detail and notes will be provided as a reference at the end of the course.We recommend that you bring at least two pieces of furniture with you but we do keep several pieces here for you to work on if you cannot find anything suitable.

The cost of this course is £280.00

French Polishing Advanced Course

This 3 day course is designed for students who have previously completed tuition with us in French Polishing. During the course we will be discussing and practising further techniques in french polishing including:

• Spiriting off to achieve a fine 'piano' finish
• Ebonising
• Treatment of inlays and bandings
• Polishing profiles and carvings using glazes and the polishers mop
• Colour matching

The course also offers a good opportunity to revise and perfect the polishing techniques learned previously.

The cost of this course is £260.00