Time to finish off this test report. ;-)

Once the first coat had dried, I burnished the two sections of the test 
piece (paper-burnished and polissoir-burnished) and found both sections 
to be silky smooth. The section burnished with the polissoir retained 
its superior sheen. I applied a 2nd coat of the T&T. Once dry, I 
burnished both sections with brown paper. The result was as expected: 
more sheen to the section which had been twice burnished with the 
polissoir (before & after the 1st coat of finish).

To my mind, either approach is worth the little effort required. 
Burnishing with polissoir or brown paper bag� improved the surface 
quality of the padauk, which had been sanded with 400x after raising 
grain. Both burnishers revealed deficiencies in my surface prep, which 
had gone undetected before. It will become a permanent addition to my 
finishing routines.

fwiw
Don


On 2024-01-29 10:07 a.m., Don Schwartz via groups.io wrote:
> I use shavings to burnish unfinished turned work while still on the 
> lathe, and it works well. Speed is a huge advantage there.
>
> My testing to this point shows that burnishing with either brown paper 
> bag or polissoir enhances both the surface feel and appearance of the 
> padauk. After damping to raise grain, drying and then sanding to 400 
> grit and vigorously brushing sanding dust from open grain, I burnished 
> one section with polissor (no wax) and one with brown paper. The 
> polissoir produced more sheen than the brown paper, possibly because 
> it is easier to apply pressure with the polissoir, and because the 
> corn straw is harder than the paper, and so better able to compress 
> the tiny surface irregularities left after sanding. The hardness of 
> the padauk apparently prevents the polissoir from abrading any softer 
> material at the surface, which I wasn't hoping to achieve. The sample 
> surfaces both appear to have taken a first coat of T&T well. The wood 
> looks bare, but with a lovely, subtle sheen. I will burnish my samples 
> again before applying a second coat of the T&T.
>
> fwiw
> Don
>
> On 2024-01-29 9:09 a.m., james rich wrote:
>> Burnishing with your plane shavings after finish planing might work 
>> for you . I learned the technique from the great Krenov (indirectly) 
>> from a class I attended years ago . Simple , good exercise, and works 
>> great . Oh , almost forgot , FREE !
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Jan 27, 2024 at 9:43\u202fAM Frank Filippone 
>>  wrote:
>>
>> ��� AFAIK, the technique of burnishing with a polissoirwas not one
>> ��� used on Mid Century furniture.
>>
>> ��� Having said that, I have done some work using the polissoir on
>> ��� wood, and find that the effect ( early wood texturally sepaarted
>> ��� from the late wood) is
>> ��� more effective on soft wood species... cedar, pine or even oak
>> ��� versus ebony or purpleheart. for example.� Padauk is a hard wood,
>> ��� and I suspect the
>> ��� results of burnishing it will be not enough to get a significant
>> ��� textural finish difference.
>>
>> ��� Now if all you want is a really SMOOTH finish, use more sandpaper
>> ��� ( go to 320, wet the wood, start again at 220 and go to 600) or
>> ��� plane it super well.
>> ��� Try the burnishing using a stiff rag.� That should give that kind
>> ��� of finish...
>>
>> ��� BTW, Padauk is one of those woods that changes color when it
>> ��� oxidizes.� If you sand it, it WILL change color.� On an old piece,
>> ��� one that is oxidized
>> ��� over time, you may make a LOT of work for yourself in needing to
>> ��� re-sand the entire bookshelf.
>>
>> ��� Frank Filippone
>> ��� BMWRed735i@G...
>>
>> ��� On 1/25/2024 2:42 PM, Don Schwartz wrote:
>> ��� >
>> ��� > Has anyone used a polissoir ( corn-straw burnisher, Jeff) on a
>> ��� Tried & True Original finish? I made a couple of wall-mount shelf
>> ��� supports, to
>> ��� > replace the ones UPS broke, so my daughter & GIT can finally
>> ��� install a teak-look shelving system that belonged to my
>> ��� recently-departed Aunt. It's
>> ��� > not critical, but I'm wanting to emulate a mid-century
>> ��� barely-finished look on padauk. I'm tempted to burnish before
>> ��� applying the T&T as the grain's
>> ��� > quite irregular, but I don't want to interfere with absorption.
>> ��� All suggestions welcome.
>> ��� >
>> ��� > Don, in nearly-balmy Calgary
>> ��� >
>>
>>
>>
>>
>

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don\u2019t do too many things wrong." - Warren Buffet

\u201cTo argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, 
and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like 
administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist 
by scripture.\u201d \u2015 Thomas Paine, The American Crisis