French polish as I learned to do it is the high gloss finish we are used to on guitars and violins. It's built up from clean new wood / furniture, but it allows for repairs and retouchings later on. What the teacher there called French polish was when he dulled the high gloss finish down with a fine pumice powder and finished off there. It gave a very silky smooth finish. What they call french polishing most other places is the high gloss finish, and I haven't found an explanation for it. Either way, it's the same procedure; layers of shellac applied with a cloth.
From a video on the web it looks like Singers Japanning was made efficient at a production line. The cast irion bodies was dipped in a sort of black paint, and then spray painted layers off shellac on top. Finished off with decals and a good layer of shellac to protect them. When we touch up an old machine, it's often best to use the rag method or fine brush to fill where paint has chipped. Could we spray it on at home? I don' think Singer used the pumice powder.
Is the rough spot on your machine where the light goes? It might be caused by heat? These days we can get LED bulbs and they get just slighly warm. I just wonderd what caused it, can be lots of things.
I have so far kept my machines original, just cleaned and polished them. I have been thinking of touching up a bit here and there but not come that far yet. I accept a few signs of wear and age and I still think they are very nice looking when cleaned up.
Last edited by Mickey2; 05-21-2017 at 03:46 AM.