About a year ago I built a wonderful inlaid table for my daughter and finsihed it with shellac–the first time I used shellac. Recently when she was redecorating her living room, two spots (each the size of a nickel) appeared in the center of the table top. Whatever spilled on the tabletop and caused the spots seems to have dissolved the shellac. There is a slight ridge around the perimeter of each spot.
From the reading I’ve done on finishing, it seems that I should begin the repair by brushing on a new coat of shellac. I plan on beginning using a 2-pound cut for the first 2 or 3 coats, then gradually thinning the cut down to a 1-pound cut for the final coats.
Will this approach dissolve the year-old shellac and combine it with the new? Does my plan make sense? Is there a better method? What happens if the ridge is still present after putting on a new coat of shellac?
Thanks for your help.
Replies
If it were me I would first ease the ridges with 320 /400 grit wet and dry then with a small brush build up the depressions in light coats of 2# allowing each to harden.Then flat the whole top with 400 lightly and build a finish with 1#
Lightly sand the piece to smooth after filling any depressions with shellac.
I would then re-pad the entire surface - you will get a much finer result than brushing, and padding is not at all hard to do. Check out Jeff Jewitt's web site http://www.homesteadfinishing.com for more information. In case it isn't there, here's a quick how-to.
To pad, you need a lint-free cloth pad. You can use all sorts of things, but I get away with using an old gym sock (clean, of course). Soak the pad in alcohol, then add some shellac to it (squirt some on, or carefully pour a little on).
The secret is to take the pad and do the "airplane gently landing then taking off" kind of motion along the piece. The gentle rubbing leaves a thin film of shellac that dries very quickly. Repeat this several times to build up a super flat gloss finish. After I started padding, I never brushed shellac again.
Thanks! I'll be getting to work in the morning. And thanks to Jacko as well.
Before starting the refinishing, first wash the top with a soap solution to remove any contaminants, other than that, the previous directions are the way to go.
John W.
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