Just got some Zinsser orange shellac, I’m going to use it on some clear <!—-> <!—->Douglas<!—-> fur to pop the grain & add color. Can I top coat this with a few thin coats of polyurethane for protection, or would I be better off with a different top coat? <!—-><!—->
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Almost anything will go over shellac provided it's the dewaxed version. Check your can. I suspect it's NOT dewaxed, in which case nothing's going to stick to it (except maybe more or the same shellac). The Zinser SealCoat is dewaxed, but it's either blond or superblond (can't remember which) and doesn't have the deeper color.
If you build it - he will come.
dewaxed version. Check your can. I suspect it's NOT dewaxed, in which case nothing's going to stick to it (except maybe more or the same shellac).
OR a non-poly varnish.Gretchen
Why do you need another top coat. I put it on straight out of the can (heavy 3 # cut I believe) and it built up like poly in 3 coats. it's so thick and smooth and shiny. it looks great and I would assume is giving great protection. The only thing I did that was odd is that when I was done I had a run in my piece on a shelf. I dipped my already wet brush into some Mineral Spirits ans did a quick brush of the top. It seemed to make a huge difference in the finish quality. It is smooth as glass now.
You can topcoat waxed shellac with regular varnish...not poly. Try Behlens Rock Hard Tabletop Varnish. This is a common practice for tabletops or any other piece of furniture that is subject to hard use. Especially if someone sets their martini down on unprotected shellac...
If it is ok to put poly over shellac, why does the fine print on every can of poly I have ever seen say do not apply over shellac?
That advice is to play it safe because most shellac contains wax. If the shellac is not completely dewaxed, poly will not adhere well. Dewaxed shellac is excellent as a base for poly.Rich
Don't ever learn anything new. Rather than give you satisfaction that you know more than you did, it will only confirm you know less than you thought by opening horizons to things of which you had never dreamt and which you now must explore.
Rich is right -- you can put anything over dewaxed shellac.The Zinsser Seal Coat is especially useful as a base coat when you are using any waterbased product, which used on their own, are notorious for raising the grain.
Zinsser's spray sealer is dewaxed, and I've used it sucessfully under poly. Zinsser has told mein the past that none of their other shellacs is dewaxed. Though I'm not a huge fan of poly, I think it's a sensible topcoat on pieces that will receive a lot of use. Shellac can be gorgeous, in part because it rubs out so well, but I've seen it become scratched quite easily (for the same reason it rubs out well). Good luck.
Joisey Girl
>>Zinsser has told mein the past that none of their other shellacs is dewaxedBasicly true but their spray can shellac is dewaxed so that it does not clog the nozzle.Howie.........
Douglastwocats mentioned superblonde and blonde shellac, but if you make your own from flakes and add alcohol (order from woodworkers' catalogs) you can get the darker colors--amber, garnet, button, seedlac and I think none of those that come as flakes have wax in them. I read that you can let the regular canned variety sit in a clear jar in a cool place (edit: with cover tightly on jar) and the wax will settle out as a milky looking liquid and you can pour off the clear and get the wax out that way.
Edited 2/13/2005 6:53 pm ET by Danno
Danno,The fact that shellac comes in a flake form has no bearing over whether it contains shellac.Trying to decant shellac off the top of a mixture in which the wax has "settled" is about as easy as catching smoke. The wax never really settles and just swirls up into the mixture with the slightest movement of the bottle.Any shellac can be dewaxed. First pour it through paint strainers which are filter paper cones with a more open mesh at the vertex. Several cones may be needed for a given quantity of shellac as the mesh becomes completely clogged as it traps the wax. When all the shellac has been strained, filter it though a coffee filter. The shellac will be optically crystal clear and highly wax-free.If one is really anal about dewaxing, fill a plastic squeeze bottle (the kind with a pointed tip with a cap) about 3/4 full with the shellac. Add about 1/2 inch to 1 inch of mineral spirits or naphtha. Shake vigorously for a minute or so, homogenizing the alcohol/oil mixture.Then let it settle out overnight with the bottle supported "upside down" with the spout pointing downward. The clear shellac will be in the lower layer. All the wax will be in the upper oil layer which will be milky white.Squeeze the shellac out the spout until the (sharp) alcohol/oil interface enters the spout and almost reaches the narrow tip, then stop. The shellac will be about as free of wax as it's possible to achieve.Discard the wax and rinse the bottle with about an ounce of an alcohol/mineral spirits mixture. Several rinses and the bottle will be clean.Rich
Edited 2/13/2005 8:49 pm ET by Rich14
A similar method would be to use a gravy separator. It is a measuring cup with a spout leading from the bottom of the cup. It provides a similar function in making turkey and duck gravy to separate fat from meat juices. Cover the cup with plastic wrap and allow the shellac to settle and separate into wax and shellac. Gently pour the clear shellac into a clean container leaving the wax behind. Discard the wax and clean the cup with alcohol.Greg
Man, those cooks get all the good equipment. I knew there was yet another kitchen gadget my wife was hiding from me that I could use in the garage!
Rich
One's gotta eat, more or less (some more than less ;o} ).
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