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I've been watching some videos on French polishing and watch a few where at the end of a session they rub the finish briskly with the palm of their hand. They say they do it with enough friction (pressure) to build up a bit of heat. Just what does this accomplish if anything?
I gave it a shot and it can be done but I really didn't see a lot of difference...just curious - I like to know the reasons why I'm doing something (or not).

French polish is as much technique and process as a finish can get. I never mastered it for guitars . I hope others that are good at it chime in

I fp my guitars. There are a lot of techniques. This is just another way of compacting the shellac, to harden it. You won't necessarily see a difference in the shine, just durability. I tried it once, but I already put a lot of pressure on it as I polish, so I personally don't see a need to do this.

I think it's good to try a lot of different techniques. Use whichever works for you.

Ok that makes sense and I thought that might be the case in part. When they said to do it hard enough to create some heat it made me wonder if the heating up effect might be doing something to the shellac (molecular structure reorganization or something magical like that).
The technique actually felt a tiny bit fulfilling to me if that makes any sense. Must of been my OCD kicking in I guess.
Watched one video where the guy did a type of pummeling with the pad to compact the shellac....he claimed it was where the term to give someone "a shellacking" came from.

Brian Howard, our resident finishing expert, suggested pummeling to me. I have problems with my hands and I was worried that I didn't have the strength to really polish in the shellac. I used the technique for a while, until I gained hand strength.

Now, I can put the hurt on it with the best of them.

It all works. Do what feels right and works for you.

Thanks for the info Diane, I'm pretty sure that I'm getting enough pressure during the actual padding sessions myself but a little pummeling or palm rubbing wouldn't hurt for added assurance I guess.

This post is a couple years old but it's right where I am at this point. Getting ready to French polish. Any good videos out there that you recommend? I don't have a clue how to choose shellac. I don't know why you would pick one color or whatever it's called over another. And I would be interested in help with that. As regards that question, my little tenor ukulele has figured Maple sides and back and a redwood top.

Check out a variety of youtube videos and you will get the general idea. FP is not terribly difficult after you understand the basics. I buy fresh flakes and reconstitute with EtOH as needed. (as close to absolute alcohol as you can find) If you buy 2# or 3# cut wet shellac, get the freshest possible. I don't use orange shellac, but that is certainly a personal preference. Hand (bare hand palm) rubbing isn't necessary or even advisable acc to some. A really good rubber is essential. There are tons of sources of info on that, too. BTW there will be a learning curve, but don't let that dissuade you.

ChuckBarnett wrote:This post is a couple years old but it's right where I am at this point. Getting ready to French polish. Any good videos out there that you recommend? I don't have a clue how to choose shellac. I don't know why you would pick one color or whatever it's called over another. And I would be interested in help with that. As regards that question, my little tenor ukulele has figured Maple sides and back and a redwood top.

For some reason, I watched this video and suddenly French polishing made total sense to me. One suggestion if you use his technique, do NOT use Old English lemon oil. Dummy me used it and the yellow coloring stained my top. Just use cheap mineral oil. I use baby oil. Now, I FP all of my guitars. I enjoy it.

https://youtu.be/ParX4-dOf1s