Woodturning Basics: How to Make and Use Friction Polish

[@knothead5]

Very good video with straight forward instructions. Need to get the bottles and mix up a batch. BTW, coffee filters are lint free and cheap.

[@industrialcomfort]

Thank you for watching and glad it helped!

[@TramJizzle]

Thank you for a video with no rambling intro, just straight into it, simple to follow and answered all my questions, well done.

[@industrialcomfort]

Appreciate the comment, Tram. Thank you for watching.

[@brentscott5359]

Been making my own shellac for a while. Stupid easy. Next logical step was friction polish. Again, ridiculously easy. If yer gonna be a DIYer, go big or go home eh? Here in Canada, denatured alcohol is impossible to find, short of distilling it yourself. Did I just come up with another DIY project? I like wrapping the towel on the piece rather than putting pressure on one side. It evens out the pressure on opposite sides of the mandrel. Good video.

[@industrialcomfort]

Thank you, and thanks for watching, Brent!

[@darin.terwilliger]

nice will have to give it a try... I use a paste I made from Mineral oil and bees wax, that seems to work good also

[@industrialcomfort]

DT, it was so, so easy to make and it works so well. I have heard of that mixture but people generally mix in pumice or diatomaceous earth to assist in the polishing.

[@davidbockel5749]

Nice! Remind me to show you my finish sometime--takes me about a week from start to finish!

[@industrialcomfort]

Takes a week to make the polish or to finish the piece? Your stuff is crazy good so can’t wait to see!

[@davidbockel5749]

@@industrialcomfort Take a week to get the finish on. As you allude to in your video, it's a lot of coats to get it built up, plenty of sanding in between and a 4-stage polish (I just added the last step recently). I like friction polish for open bowls though. My biggest question is how durable is it over years? Only a couple of ways to find out!

[@industrialcomfort]

Yes, therein lies the question. I couldn't tell ya yet :)

[@alex-E7WHU]

Mixed some knotting solution with some boiled linseed oil, ratio unknown, but about 1:1. Works lovely.👍

[@LakeviewWorkshop]

Great video Todd. I love using friction polish. I just use some on my last bowl, hope to have that video out in a few days. Keep up the good work.

[@industrialcomfort]

appreciate the feedback, Lakeview, and thank you for watching!

[@Dominic.Minischetti]

Thanks for sharing this brother! 👍🏻

[@industrialcomfort]

You bet!

[@darrenswoodworks8695]

Is there a substitute for the denatured alcohol? Will acetone work? We can’t get denatured alcohol here in California.

[@industrialcomfort]

Good question. I am not a chemist so hesitant to provide the wrong suggestion here. Reviewing certain forums, I have heard anything from isopropyl to methanol to camp fuel or everclear grain alcohol can be substituted.

[@darrenswoodworks8695]

Thank you for the reply. I might try a small Batch and see what I get. If it doesn’t I haven’t invested much. And I can pass that info on to others. Thanks again

[@industrialcomfort]

You bet and thank you for watching! Good luck and keep me posted

[@LeftCoastDude]

I am also in California, where denatured alcohol is not allowed to be sold. But to my surprise, I found that I could order it from Amazon. I was skeptical that my order would not go through, but it did! Two days later, I had a box of 4 individual quart bottles of denatured alcohol at my door. And I grabbed the box before the porch pirates got to it!

[@darrenswoodworks8695]

@@LeftCoastDude good for you. Don’t say that too loud they might hear you. I tried that awhile back and it would not go through. I tried out of state companies and they said this product can’t be sold in California. I’ll keep trying. Maybe I’ll find someone not paying attention. Thanks for your help.

[@LeftCoastDude]

This is a very informative video on friction polish. I will certainly try it. Since I make my own shellac, what pound cut should I use of shellac when mixing up a batch of the friction polish?

[@industrialcomfort]

Thanks for watching, @leftcoastdude. most store bought stuff, which is what I used, is a 3lb cut.

[@michaelhines1891]

I turn and make other things non lathe related. What happens of you skip friction polish step? What could you do if the piece is not lathe mountable?

[@industrialcomfort]

You should get a nice finish but you may get streaking. Let me know!

[@SteveFischer-pj8sh]

Will try your recipe. Will save $ commercial stuff to costly.

[@industrialcomfort]

Let me know how you make out, Steve!

[@FrankMac59]

What was the strength of the shellac solution?

[@industrialcomfort]

Hi Frank - interestingly the can doesn't mention the % breakdown.

[@TheLucidscreamz]

whats the shellac ratio using flakes ?

[@industrialcomfort]

My understanding is that it would be the same ratio

[@FrankMac59]

I think that's the same question that I was asking as in what cut is the shellac solution as in pounds per gallon?

[@henrypagan6657]

Wow thank you. Can I do a guitar like that

[@industrialcomfort]

You're welcome, Henry. No, you most likely won't be able to do a guitar using this stuff. The friction, for which the polish is named, is required to get things to cure. You may be able to get away with doing multiple coats with dry time in between but I"m not entirely sure... never tried it. Thanks for watching.

[@uniquegiftpens]

I have found that home made friction polish just doesn't hold up. I prefer lacquer sanding sealer and spray lacquer for a permanent finish. Open grain woods may require six or seven coats with light sanding before the final coat while closed grain wood can be finished with one or two coats. The finish will last and will stand up to hand sanitizer.

[@industrialcomfort]

No doubt that your finish would be much more robust. I feel anything sprayed is going to lay down a thicker coat. Thank you for watching,.

[@mdalatibo]

food safe?

[@industrialcomfort]

Hi mdalatibo, unfortunately it is NOT food safe. I certainly wish it was. For a food safe finish I would go with mineral oil, walnut oil, or wood turner's finish. Thank you for watching.

[@JohnColgan.]

Which part(s) are not food safe?