Okay, I’ve read a lot of post and books on staining (Jeff Jewitt to mention one) and I am very confused about something. Most everyone says to use de-waxed shellac to prime / seal the wood. I’ve gotten a piece of cherry cut off (what I plan to use) and some scrap Maple I had in the shop. I applied a coat of Zinssers “Seal Coat” 100% Wax Free Shellac to both pieces. I then tried to apply a stain (both waterborne and oil based) to different boards. None of them seem to darken the boards at all. Now, should a coat of this product be applied BEFORE I stain or after? It seems as though the stain does not penetrate the wood with the shellac on it. Boards tested without the shellac had penetration and darkened. I know several coats will be needed to reach the desired color but at least it does seem to work without the shellac.
Is there a difference between Seal Coat De-Waxed Shellac and Regular Shellac? Should the shellac be a “waterborne” shellac? I know I am missing something here.
I plan on building a hutch out of cherry, spraying a stain or dye, then applying a topcoat. And my wife wants it real dark. I don’t mind “experimenting” with different ways or technics but I don’t want to experiment on the final product. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Jerry
Replies
Stain
Jerry
When you seal before staining it should be a thin wash coat. When I stain over sealer I use alcohol based dye stains, glazes or toners over the sealer -
SA
Well, I did not thin the sealer. Perhaps that is one of my problems.
Thanks,
Jerry
Cut the sealcoat 50/50 with denatured alcohol
This is a good starting point. Then sand lightly with 320 or red scotchbrite. You would be better off to carefully select the Cherry for grain and color and not stain it at all, orange shellac will give it a beautiful topcoat and a nice color in the short term, and the cherry will do the job for you over time. If you want it "real dark" use the same washcoat over poplar stain and color it until it is unrecognizible and save yourself time and money.
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