I got me a big bottle of Boiled Linseed Oil today. Re-attempted the smoothing out of Vinnie's shellac ridges. Things went much better indeed.
This Glenn guy, he knows what he's talking about. You'd think he has three or four decades of furniture restoration behind him or something, eh?
Thanks, Glenn, for your patience and your help. I do ask a lot of questions and I do tend to over-think things. I am a thorough perfectionist; sorry!!!
So, the ridges look -much- better, but they are still detectable. I will call this done, and learn with his machine as far as how much is too little/too much. I have a feeling that when I do the proper shellac coat, I may be able to smooth the ridges out a titch as the new shellac re-activates the old; but, we'll see!
Glenn mentioned, "When applying the new finish only use shellac and linseed oil."
Yes, when I said alcohol, I was referring to the fact that the shellac is shellac flakes/powder plus alcohol, as I am mixing my own and not starting with the pre-mixed shelllac. I did not mean that I would -also- be dipping into pure alcohol. Sorry, I am not always clear.
Vinnie is looking excellent now, still gleaming with the linseed oil. I hope he will look this good after my French polish attempt! :-)