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I am not claiming to have invented this but I haven't heard of it before and it worked for me.

Scenario: I prefer shellac finishes and usually French polish. However, with darker amber or ruby shellac (or tinted shellac) I find that I can get color buildup in some areas, particularly on edges and uneven surfaces. On lighter wood was this can be undesirable (or you may think it looks cool). So, when using a colored or tinted shellac I have started spraying it to get a good even spread of color. However, I have yet to get all the variables in place to get a glassy coat like I can get French polishing. I end up with some degree of orange peel. Normally, I would wet sand it out and then polish.

The Experiment: I decided to try rubbing the dried finish with a wet (water) t-shirt scrap and some 4F pumice powder (I use it as a filler when French polishing, so I had it around). Using the same same swirling motion as French polishing I smoothed out all of the orange peel and ended up with a glassy finish that required no additional polishing. I'll probably spray more shellac as this combo is a real time saver and looks great. I think 4F was the finest pumice I could find, I would not try this with anything more coarse.

Let me know if you try this, and if you get good results.

Regards,
GS

Basically you are just wet sanding it though right?

Your basically polishing the finish, you might try some of the polishing products as you can walk through grades of polish. I personally would rather level with a sanding block to actually level the finish, especially after spraying. Then I polish. There are times when I French Polish that I go straight to polishing without leveling. This is an aesthetic choice, I did all the effort of hand applying a finish I do not mind having tell tale signs that it is hand finished.

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When I French Polish, I always level sand when I'm nearing the end. It is ideal to wait a week or two after your last French Polishing session to let the finish cure a bit. Then I come back and do my glazing sessions - or you can skip this step if you want and just buff like you do with a normal finish -- but you need a thick enough film to ensure you don't burn through. Personally, I prefer glazing.