Wood polishing

[ramankv]

Hi All,
I have got the carpentry done and trying to get the wood polished. I was given a quote by the wood polisher. There was a (1) Plain Polish and a (2) Melamine polish. Melamine isnearly double of Plain polish. I was told that it will be done by spray painting and the labor involed is more. Not sure about this and sek your opinion.
The sutprising part was that he gave a quote in terms of RFT i.e., running feet for polishing, as opposed to Rs. per. sqft which is what the carpenter charged. I was wondering if this is the norm or this guy is trying to take me for a ride.
Incidentally, he is quoting Rs.50 for plain polish and Rs.90 for melamine polish (with materials).

Raman.

[ardesarchitects]

Hi Raman,
Polish work will never be calculated RFT,it is same as carpentry SFT .Cost for normal polish will not be more than 35-45/- per sft and with melamine 65-70/- per sft depending up on the polish brand they use.( I am talking about polisher rates working for my projects).Individual works cost may be little higher.If he is using polish brands like Cat,sheenlac it will be costly.Other brands like sunflower,light house etc are less in cost.

Regards
Ar.Praveen.N
Ardes Architects and Interior Designers
ardesarchitects@gmail.com

[amit_pearl2]

50 to 55 rs per square feet is good price per square feet for melamine polish. 90 rs is way high.
Bargain hard you may get at less than 50 too....

I am looking for PU based polish for my wardrobe. Yet to finalize on price......

[nag20in]

Hi Amit,
can some tel me the Prices for PU based polish.
One of the person was quoting Rs.130/sft (PU polish)

[knair]

Hi All,
Could you recommend some good people (economical too) for wood polishing?

[sam_m400]

Are you talking about main door polishing ? . Normally it would be done only for main door ,or doing it all the doors/windows.

My painter told he will do main door polishing then all rest will be putty/Primer/painting 1 coat. Is this correct?

[dream_home]

PU is not costly as described by painters. Recently i did 90 rft of hand railing and 250 sqft for main door and puja door. I consumed 3 ltrs of sealer and 3 ltr of top coat and 2 ltr of stain. Typically a ltr of sealer costs around 450 - 500 rs and top coat costs about 600 rs. You need 120/220/300 emery papers to get the job done also on final day you require spray machine for 2 coats. The qty i told is for 2 coats of sealer and 2 coats of top coat.
Sealer you can apply in 2" brush and top coat in some instance u can use brush to avoid wastage or else you can use spray.
The initial preparation is the key, ie sanding. I employed 2 painters for 3 day work, 1 day was fully devoted for sanding second day for staining + apply 1st coat sealer allow it to dry for 2 hrs and sanding + apply 2nd coat sealer. 3rd day sanding and applying 2 rounds of top coat. Spray machine you get it for rent at 125 rs / day.

In total i spent approximately 3K for sealer + top coat + 1K for stain(as color i selected was dark) + 2.5k for labour + 500 rs for emery paper + 125 for spray m/c./ In total 7K for 250 sqft of doors and 90 rft of hand railings. Which is far lesser than normal polish people quote. For the same work berger had quoted me 28K and one more person had quoted me 65K, also few people have quoted around 110 rs/sqft.
PU is easy and you need to know the steps.

[Yogi]

Thanks dreamhome for sharing the info. It is really helpful. Can you also let me know the correct procedure for the normal melamine polish? It would be of great help to me since painting work is underway for my house.

Thanks
Yogi

[ardesarchitects]

Hi guys,
Let us understand the original polish method.
1.Emry paper should be to a extent of making the veneer surface clean and soft.over done will kill grains in veneer.
2.Sealer should never ever be applied with brush (un skilled do this to finish it faster)it should only be applied with soft thin cotton cloth.I am sure many would have seen in olden days polishers apply the sealer alone for days
Sealer is to fill the veneer gaps (NUSS in polishers language) and act as base for polish
3.Sealer is applied twice with sanding in between some times 3 times (depends on veneer,wood grains and depths)
4.Coloring to fill the nail gaps ,a good polisher will mix 2-3 shades in the veneer and use appropriate color to fill the nail pores(dark at dark grain,light at light grain)you need a microscopic eye to see those detailing.
3.Then the actual polish is applied in hand one coat then sanding ,second coat and if required 3rd coat to be applied just before melamine/PU spray to avoid dust particles sitting on it
Touch wood/melamine/PU/lamination are hierarchic in finishes.
Precautions
polish cannot be done in nights unless you use high watt incandescent /halogen bulbs kept very near to the application areas.Polish should be applied with ideal density.
Over coloring the veneer will loose the grains.
Nc thinner is very important ingredient mixed in melamine ,little less or more will spoil all your base works


Polish work is not much about material cost ,its all about workmanship, time ,patience and how study they apply.It is equal to hand carving (tools are not costly workmanship is price less)
A true talented polisher work can be identified looking at his hand polish strokes .His hand polish it self will beat out a machine spray.
Polisher should have a very detailed eye

Regards
Ar.Praveen.N
Ardes Architects and Interior Designers
ardesarchitects@gmail.com
www.ardesarchitects.com

[Yogi]

Thanks for the info praveen, here you have written about polishing veneer. What is the process of polishing normal doors and windows? Like teak and honne doors...what is the procedure for that?

thanks
Yogi