The Genuine French-Polish

To one pint of spirits of wine add a quarter of an ounce of gum-copal, a quarter of an ounce of gum-Arabic, and one ounce of shellac.

Let the gums be well bruised, and sifted through a piece of muslin. Put the spirits and the gums together in a vessel that can be closely corked; place them near a warm stove, and frequently shake them. In two or three days they will be dissolved. Strain the mixture through a piece of muslin, and keep it tight corked for use.

French Polish

Take one ounce each of mastic, sandarac, seedlac, shellac, gumlac, and gum-Arabic; reduce them to powder; and add a quarter of an ounce of virgin wax; put the whole into a bottle, with one quart of rectified spirits of wine; let it stand twelve hours, and it will be lit for use.

Another

Put into a glass bottle one ounce of gumlac, two drachms of mastic in drops, four drachms of sandarac, three ounces of shellac, and half an ounce of gum dragon; reduce the whole to powder; add it to a piece of camphor the size of a nut, and pour on it eight ounces of rectified spirits of wine. Stop the bottle close, but take care, when the gums are dissolving, that it is not more than half full. Place near a warm stove until dissolved.

Other French-Polish Receipts

1 pint naptha, 3 1/2 ounces orange shellac, 1/2 ounce elima. Darken with red saunders wood.

To one pint of spirits of wine, add half an ounce of gum shellac, half an ounce of seed lac, and a quarter of an ounce of gum sandarac; submit the whole to a gentle heat, frequently shaking it, till the various gums are dissolved, when it is fit for use.

Shellac, 6 ounces; naptha, 1 quart; sandarac, 1 ounce; benzoin, 3/4 ounce.

Three ounces shellac, 1/2 ounce of gum mastic pulverized, and one pint of methylated spirits of wine added. Let it stand till dissolved.

Twelve ounces shellac, 2 ounces gum elima, 3 ounces gum copal, 1 gallon of spirits of wine; dissolve.

The following must be well mixed and dissolved:- Pale shellac, 2 1/4 pounds; 3 ounces mastic, 3 ounces sandarac, 1 gallon spirits of wine. After the above is dissolved, add 1 pint copal varnish, 1 1/4 ounces shellac, 1/2 ounce gum juniper, 1/2 ounce benzoin, 1/2 pint of methylated alcohol.

An Improved Polish

To a pint of spirits of wine add, in fine powder, one ounce seedlac, two drachms of gum guaiacum, two drachms of dragon's-blood, and two drachms of gum mastic; expose them, in a vessel stopped close, to a moderate heat for three hours, until you find the gums dissolved; strain the whole into a bottle for use, with a quarter of a gill of the best linseed oil, to be shaken up well with it.

This polish is more particularly intended for dark-colored woods-for it is apt to give a tinge to light ones, as satin-wood or air-wood, etc-owing to the admixture of the dragon's-blood, which gives it a red appearance.

Water-proof Polish

Take a pint of spirits of wine, two ounces of gum benzoin, a quarter of an ounce of gum sandarac, and a quarter of an ounce of gum anime; these must be put into a stopped bottle, and placed either in a sand-bath or in hot water till dissolved; then strain the mixture, and, after adding about a quarter of a gill of the best clear poppy oil, shake it well up, and put it by for use.

Prepared Spirits

This preparation is useful for finishing after any of the foregoing receipts, as it adds to the lustre and durability, as well as removes every defect, of the other polishes; and it gives the surface a most brilliant appearance.

Half a pint of the very best rectified spirits of wine, two drachms of shellac, and two drachms of gum benzoin. Put these ingredients into a bottle, and keep it in a warm place till the gum is all dissolved, shaking it frequently; when cold, add two teaspoonfuls of the best clear white poppy oil; shake them well together, and it is fit for use.

This preparation is used in the same manner as the foregoing polishes; but, in order to remove all dull places, you may increase the pressure in rubbing.

Polish For Turners' Work

Dissolve 1 ounce of sandarach in 1/2 pint of spirits of wine; shave 1 ounce of beeswax, and dissolve it in a sufficient quantity of spirits of turpentine to make it into a paste, add the former mixture to it by degrees; then, with a woollen cloth, apply it to the work while it is in motion in the lathe, and polish it with a soft linen rag; it will appear as if highly varnished.