Menu
How To
Design Advice
Customer Service
My account
Help with woodcare How-to guides
On the lathe, the finish goes on with the piece turning: Cellulose Sanding Sealer for a quick, smooth base, de-nibbed with 220, then High Build Friction Polish on a lint-free cotton cloth, a carnauba stick on its edge and a burnish with a dry cloth. Melamine Lacquer Gloss, a hard semi-gloss resistant to heat and water, for a lamp base or a display bowl, revived with Burnishing Cream; Food Safe Oil or Pure Tung Oil for bowls and boards that meet food; Wax Cutting to take down a gloss that is too bright. Allow two hours for a bowl.
Page updated September 2026 · by the Mylands France woodcare specialists
Why the lathe changes everything
A turned piece is rarely finished at the bench: it is finished on the lathe, while it turns, with products made for that. The rotation spreads the product in a thin, even layer, and the heat of friction does the rest. That is the move Mylands makes Cellulose Sanding Sealer for, a fast-drying base that fills the pores and smooths the surface, and High Build Friction Polish, a turning shellac that goes on with a cloth and is polished with a carnauba stick.
Four routes, depending on what the piece is for. Friction polish for the deep gloss of a bowl or a display box. Melamine Lacquer Gloss, a hard semi-gloss resistant to heat and water, for what gets handled or sits next to a lamp. Food Safe Oil or Pure Tung Oil for what receives food. Sealer and wax for a piece soft and matt to the touch. Cellulose Thinners thins the sealer and the melamine lacquer, and cleans the brushes.
The method
A warm, dry workshop: shellac clouds in humidity. Piece mounted on the lathe, last cut made.
With the piece turning, 120 then 150 then 180; then with the lathe stopped, a last pass along the grain to erase the circular scratches, which shellac would magnify. Dust off.
With a cloth or a brush, piece stopped, one thin coat; it dries fast. Thin with Cellulose Thinners if the product thickens. Once dry, de-nib with 220 until the surface feels glass-smooth: this sanding is what makes the final gloss.
A folded lint-free cotton cloth, a small amount of polish, the piece turning. Press firmly and keep moving: the heat of friction sets the shellac. Recharge in small amounts until you reach the build you want.
Once the build is there, present the edge of the carnauba wax stick against the turning piece, without forcing: a fine veil is laid down.
A clean, dry cloth pressed against the turning piece, up to a mirror gloss. To go further, a drop of Burnishing Cream on a cloth lifts the lustre again; to quieten it, Wax Cutting.
Sealer brushes and cloths in Cellulose Thinners, away from any flame, window open. The piece can be handled at once, but shellac stays sensitive to heat and alcohol: coasters.
Four pieces
01
Open-pored ash asks for careful sealing: Cellulose Sanding Sealer, de-nib with 220, then High Build Friction Polish on a cloth, carnauba, burnish. A deep gloss that shows the grain. A display bowl, not a salad bowl: shellac dislikes heat and alcohol.
02
Handled, dusted, warmed by the bulb: Melamine Lacquer Gloss, a hard semi-gloss resistant to heat and water. Sealer de-nibbed with 220, then 2 to 3 thin coats 3 to 4 hours apart, de-nibbed between them. Burnishing Cream to raise the lustre once hard.
03
No sealer, no shellac: bare wood sanded to 180 at most, Food Safe Oil, tasteless and odourless, generously, 5 to 10 minutes, wipe off, nothing left wet after 20 minutes, three coats 12 to 18 hours apart. Pure Tung Oil, resistant to food and acids, suits it too.
04
For a soft, matt feel: Cellulose Sanding Sealer de-nibbed with 220, a pass of Burnishing Cream as a liquid over the sealer, then Wax Clear on a cloth, buffed along the grain. The wax is renewed in ten minutes, once or twice a year.
The choice
| Finish | Look | For | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Build Friction Polish over sealer | Mirror gloss, warm | Bowls, boxes, spinning tops, display pieces | Shellac: dislikes heat and alcohol; repairable, new coats melting into old ones |
| Melamine Lacquer Gloss | Semi-gloss, hard | Lamp bases, handles, pieces that get handled | Resists heat and water; cool dry atmosphere, or it blooms white |
| Food Safe Oil, Pure Tung Oil | Matt, bare wood | Salad bowls, platters, boards, fruit bowls | Tasteless and odourless; a maintenance coat when water stops beading |
| Sealer and Wax Clear | Soft matt, silky | Boxes, decorative objects | No wet cloth; wax once or twice a year |
| Acrylic Sealer, Pure Tung Oil | Matt or satin | Toys | Acrylic Sealer complies with EN 71; Pure Tung Oil non-toxic, usable on toys |
Raising or lowering the sheen: Matt, satin or gloss on wood. The whole selection: Wood turning.
To avoid
Frequently asked
It is designed to be applied with the piece turning, the heat of friction setting the shellac. Off the lathe, you move to traditional French polishing with a cotton rubber: see French polishing with shellac.
More: Burnishing Cream, very mildly abrasive, revives the lustre of friction polish and melamine lacquer once hard. Less: Wax Cutting, a pumice wax, lowers the sheen of an already polished piece; or, on shellac, a pass of fine wire wool two days after the last coat.
Workshop humidity, trapped in the film, gives that milky bloom. Work in a warm, dry atmosphere, and wait for a dry day rather than forcing it: on a piece that has already clouded, you de-nib and lay a fresh thin coat, in the dry.
Food Safe Oil, tasteless and odourless, or Pure Tung Oil, resistant to water, food and acids: three coats 12 to 18 hours apart, all excess wiped off after 20 minutes, then a coat on a cloth as soon as water stops beading. Never shellac or lacquer on what touches food.
Under a friction polish or a lacquer, yes: it fills the pores, dries fast and gives, de-nibbed with 220, the smooth surface a gloss needs. Under an oil, no: oil wants bare wood, sanded to 180 at most, so that it can penetrate.
See also
“The lathe makes the shape; the cloth, with the piece turning, makes the light.”
Thanks for signing up to our newsletter!
Sign in to save items to your wishlist. Sign in to save your basket, so you can continue shopping later.
Don't have an account? Create one
Share this link and friends can buy items from your list. Anything bought disappears from it automatically. Anyone with this link can see your selection.
Moving in, redecorating, or dropping hints? A free account turns this selection into a gift list — add or remove colours whenever you like, and we'll email you when someone buys something from your shared list.
Free · Delivered to your door
Get a free colour card posted to you, showing our complete Colours of London range, with swatches made from the real paint for a true representation of our award-winning colours.
