I’ve got a pine chest to finish, and I first created a bunch of test pieces. The test peices have layers of Minwax stain, a layer of BLO and then several layers of diluted Zinsser Bulls Eye Amber Shellac. Now I’ve got two coats of stain on the chest, and, to my happy surprise, the color is absolutely perfect. It’s slightly different from my test pieces, but better. I don’t want it to change at all. I no longer intend to use amber shellac, and I’m wondering about the BLO. Are the two coats of stain and, say, three coats of diluted clear Zinsser OK? Do I need anything between the stain and the Zinsser Shellac? I was always iffy about the BLO anyway.
Thanks for any ideas.
VinceG
Replies
BLO is pretty green in tone and tends to interact with colors and turn them brownish as a result. A couple options off the top of my head. Put on a washcoat of Zinsser then follow up with water base poly. Another, superblonde shellac.
Vince,
You don't need anything between the stain and shellac. If you are going to be putting something on top of the shellac you may want to make sure you have dewaxed shellac. I am not sure what you mean by clear Zinsser.
Rob
Zinsser sells three varieties of liquid shellac--Amber (which used to be Orange), Clear (which used to be White, and which is chemically bleached at the expense of some of its durability and shelf life) and Seal Coat (which is the only dewaxed shellac, other than that in the aerosol can that Zinsser sells. Seal Coat is blonde, but not as light as super blonde, I don't think.
You can top coat shellac containing wax with tradtional resin varnishes, but not with polyurethane or with water borne finishes.
No need for the BLO if you are using an oil based stain. Shellac will adhere just fine, and the additional BLO will hardly have any impact on "grain popping". After the second coat of stain almost no additional darkening ought to occur, if the stain has had all excess wiped off at each step. If used without wiping it pretty quickly gets to looking like paint.
Edited 4/26/2007 4:31 pm ET by SteveSchoene
Edited 4/26/2007 4:36 pm ET by SteveSchoene
I currently have a can of Zinsser Bulls Eye Amber Shellac that I've been using for tests. I don't intend to use it, since I'm very happy with the color I got from the stain, and I don't want to distort that color with the amber shellac. So I'm now thinking of using the clear Zinsser Bulls Eye Shellac instead of the amber for the final coats. I just want something that won't change the color. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to use the BLO.
Vince,
I thought you were talking about the Zinsser Bullseye which contains wax. What Steve S. said is true. I was at work when I responded earlier and didn't have time to elaborate. So if you plan to use anything except a waterborne finish or a polyurethane varnish as a top coat you will be fine with the waxed shellac. Or if you are using the shellac as your top coat, that is fine also. Although you will still have some color change with the Zinsser clear.
Shellac mixed fresh from flakes offer you more options for color as well as more grades available in de-waxed. Fresh shellac dries faster and harder and dewaxed shellac offers better clarity and water vapor resistance.
BLO will change the color of the finish quite a bit and will darken more with age. And as Steve already stated it will not do much for the figure if you already have an oil based stain on the wood.
Rob
Thanks for the responses everybody. I'm not going to use the BLO. I'm going to use the clear Zinsser Bulls Eye shellac, and if it looks good after a few coats, that'll be it.
VinceG
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