anana oil (amyl
acetate). When dry, sandpaper lightly and wax.

_French polishing._ The finest of shellac finishes is French polish.
It is a thin, clear, permanent finish, but the process takes time and
patience. It is not much used in practical work, because of the time
expense, but is often employed in school shops, because only a few
materials are necessary, it dries quickly, and gives a beautiful
finish. The polished surface is obtained by adding successive thin
coats according to the following process:

(1) Preparation. The surface of the wood must be perfectly smooth and
even, sandpapered in the direction of the grain, stained, if desired,
filled, rubbed smooth and quite dry. (2) Apply two or three thin coats
of shellac. After each coat when dry, rub with No. 00 oiled sandpaper
or No. 00 steel wool. Wipe thoroly. (3) Make three pads, about the
size of a walnut, of clean, white, cotton waste, enclosed in some fine
old or washed cloth with no sizing or lint,--one pad for shellac,
one for oil, and one for alcohol. Fill one pad with shellac of the
consistency of milk, enough in the pad so that when squeezed hard it
will ooze out. The common mistake is to put too much shellac into the
pad. Rub with circular motion, as indicated in Fig. 304, never
letting the pad stop on the surface. (4) Sprinkle a very little finely
powdered pumicestone and put a little oil on the surface of the wood
here and there with the tip of a finger. Rub with second pad until
surface is dull. Wipe clean. Repeat (3) and (4) several times. Some
use raw linseed oil to prevent sticking. Others use three or four
cloth coverings on the shellac pad, removing the outer one as it
dries. A simpler way is to keep the shellac in pad, 1, thin by
moistening with a little alcohol. (5) Spiriting off (Follows process
4.) Dampen pad, 3, with very little alcohol and wipe quickly in the
direction of the grain. This should remove the circular marks. Too
much alcohol in this third pad will "burn" a dull spot. The rubbers
are said to improve with use, and may be preserved in closely
stoppered jars to prevent evaporation. The different kinds of pads
should be kept separate. Or the cotton waste may be thrown away,
and the cloths washed in strong borax water. In the process just
described, shellac alone, dissolved in alcohol, is used. The shellac
may be used with other ingredients: for example, 1 pint grain alcohol,
1/4 oz. gum copal, 1/4 oz. gum arabic, 1 oz. shellac.