The True 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 your 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 it through a piece of muslin, and keep it tight corked for use.

French Polish

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

German Polish

The wood is prepared with pumice-stone rubbed flat, oiled, and then rubbed together till smooth. The only varnish then used is a solution of shel-lac in spirits of wine, the clearest grains of lac being for the lightest varnish. Colour red with Brazil wood, and yellow by turmeric root. It is applied with a rubber of five pieces of linen; the varnish is then put on with sponge, and, having soaked through the linen layers, a little linseed oil is added in the midst of the varnish, and the whole extent of the surface of the article to be polished, must be gone over at once with this rubber.

Before the preceding composition is applied, the furniture should he cleaned with hot beer, and all ink or other stains removed.

An Improved Polish

To a pint of spirits of wine, add, in fine powder, one ounce of seed-lac, two drachms of gum guiacum, 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 it 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-coloured 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.

Waterproof 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 it; and after adding about a quarter of a gill of the best clear poppy oil, well shake it up, and put it by for use.

Bright Polish

A pint of spirits of wine, to two ounces of gum benzoin, and half an ounce of gum sandarac, put in a glass bottle corked, and placed in a sand-bath, or hot water, until you find all the gum dissolved, will make a beautiful clear polish for Tunbridge-ware goods, tea-caddies, etc.: it must be shaken from time to time, and when all dissolved, strained through a fine muslin sieve and bottled for use.

Strong Polish

To be used in the carved parts of cabinet work with a brush, as in standards, pillars, claws, etc.

Dissolve two ounces of seed-lac and two ounces of white rosin in one pint of spirits of wine.

This varnish or polish must be laid on warm, and if the work can be warmed also, it will be so much the better; at any rate moisture and dampness must be avoided.