I was at the art museum in Cleveland and saw a finish I can't figure out

They have this 18th century French cabinet with a surface that looks like deep, still water. It's not a high gloss, but it has this crazy depth. I stood there for maybe twenty minutes trying to work out if it's a shellac polish built up over years or some kind of wax over a tinted ground. The guard probably thought I was nuts. Has anyone ever replicated that kind of 'quiet shine' on a modern piece, and how did you do it?

4 comments

4 Comments

wader711mo ago

That "quiet shine" is the real trick, isn't it. Did you notice if the color was in the wood itself, or did it look like a stain or tint sitting underneath that clear top layer? That usually points you toward either a French polish or a wax over a colored base.

kelly.patricia1mo ago

Oh man, that's a sharp question. @wader71, you're making me second-guess what I saw now lol. It was on an old table, and the color seemed deep, like part of the wood, but the shine was so thin and soft. Could that quiet, warm look happen if someone used a light shellac over a really old oil stain that soaked in deep?

the_alice1mo ago

Wait, you saw that soft shine on an old table? That's wild, because shellac usually gets cloudy or flakes off after like a decade. Are you sure it wasn't just a crazy well-kept piece?

-1

miles_robinson209d agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, that's a great point, Alice. It's tough to tell sometimes.