French Polishing if done right is a very rewarding finish. As stated the wood has to be prepped. What you need is alcohol, shellac (Zinsser's Amber) 3-in-1 oil, a large cotton ball and a 4" square piece of lint free cotton material (old T shirt).
Soak the cotton ball in the alcohol and then squeeze it out. Wrap the 4" square piece of cotton cloth tightly around the cotton ball. use a popsicle stick or small piece of dowel and dip it into the shellac, and let a drop or two fall on your ball. Start at the hell, toe, and rub in a circular motion the size of a silver dollar and then lift off, do not let it sit on the wood at the end of your stroke. Put another drop or two on the ball and then put ONE drop of oil on it also, rub in a circular motion over the area you did and move but over-lap your previous spot. Do this over and over again until you are done. It takes about an hour to do the whole stock. If you decide to stop and rest, no problem, just begin again and go over the spot where you started.
The oil is added to help the shellac ball slide over the surface and the wood will not water stain.
If you want to read the best book ever on French Polishing, get "Adventures in Wood Finishing" by George Frank.
