Replies

1. 
   jimhamster | Mar 16, 2003 09:11am | #1

   The interior fir trim on my 1909 bungelow was originally finished with shellac and I must admit that after 90 years it needed a bit of work.  The areas which had the most exposure to UVs were crackled & alligatored.  Having said that, refinishing it was much easier than any other clear finish would have been.  (Strip with alcohol or if it's really bad, CitriStrip speeds up the job).

   It has a warm glow that you just can't get with any other finish.  And repair of scratches and minor dings is easy, just brush on a bit and the scratch disappears!  I guess somebody will probably have to go through the whole process in another 90 years.

   We redid the fir floors when we moved into the house in 1998 and used a poly to protect them.  Knowing what I know now, I'd shellac and power wax the floors.  Poly looks good new, is tougher than shellac, but can't be repaired without sanding the whole floor.  Stick with the shellac.

2. 
   Quickstep | Mar 16, 2003 03:30pm | #2

   I had shellac on the windows in an old house a while back. The house didn't have air conditioning, so windows left open to catch a breeze also caught rain from summer storms. This was hard on the shellac, leaving it cloudy. Shellac is beautiful for furniture, but for windows, I'd consider a good marine spar varnish. Waterlox spar varnish has a particularly warm look if that's what you're after. If you want the "close to the wood" look that shellac gives, thin the varnish some.