I hope so , 4 odd hours each just sanding them down to this stage, from M2 right down to 1200 wet and dry. What ever that varnish was on there it was one tough egg to crack.
First coat of shellac went on and left 24 hours to dry, then a wet sand with 1200 wet and dry to lift any hairs in the grain then a dry sand with 1200 to flatten it all back.
There is still some open grain but its getting there. The colour of the veneer isn't consistent between the two speakers but it shouldn't matter too much, wood is wood after all and no two pieces will be the same anyway.:scratch2:
If the next coat goes on well enough I can start to build up the polish now , if not another sand might be required.
The grain patterns are starting to show through now as well.
Yes. That amazing shine is the allure. The process is labor and time-intensive and used on very fine furniture and instruments like pianos but adds a great deal to the cost. Alternative clear high-gloss finishes applied in fewer coats never achieve the perfect smooth flatness or glassy depth to the woodgrain French polish yields. Where it later makes up for some of the work to do it initially is when touchups are needed as they can be made fairly simply and truly seamlessly.
I did my mom's fine old dining set a little over 30 years ago. It took months, but it still looks very fine today. I've inherited it and I'd move it from her (my "other") house except I don't want to nick that finish that consumed most of my 22nd year.