Replies

1. 
   twotowers | Dec 19, 2008 05:29am | #1

   Have you ever tried to stain a pine project?
   If you have - I am sure that gorgeous wood became blotchy after you applied the stain.

   Use shellac whenever you want to to prevent a blotchy outcome. Apply your stain over a thin shellac finish and your finish will be very even. You can even apply additional coats of shellac and stain to build interesting finishes.

   Best
   Jim

1. 
   Biscardi | Dec 19, 2008 11:15am | #2

   I realy like shellac.

   I make mostly period stuff and it was what was used, so it is authentic.

   By rubbing with a little steel wool or pumice you can control sheen and yet easily develop a beautifull and deep finish.

   It prevents blotching and nearly anyother top coat will stick to it if you use dewaxed shellac.

   Ease of application ranges from tedious (french polish) to very easy (padding on with a tampon). You can use a brush, but personally I am lousy with a brush.

   When covered with wax it is much more sturdy a finish then people make out.

   So use it lots- great finish.

   Frank

   I like the flakes rather than the can- always fresh.

1. 
   twotowers | Dec 19, 2008 10:09pm | #5

   Frank;
   I also do wood turnings and build up finishes using shellac. For small projects like that I always have a few cans of spray shellac and lacquer around. I prefer it to using a brush or firing up the compressor! Pick up a couple of spray cans and you will be suprised how often you reach for them!
   Jim

2. 
   MikeHennessy | Dec 19, 2008 03:56pm | #3

   Depending on your application method, shellac can be just as easy as wipe-on poly. You just use a thinner mix, more coats and, well, wipe it on! You can recoat in as little as a few minutes, depending on how thin the mix was and how thick the coat has built up. So, don't give up.

   I use shellac, well, when I wanna, just 'cause I feel like it. I also use it where I think it may be important to be able to easily repair the finish down the line, since shellac is unparalleled in ease of repair. I use it when I want a warmer looking finish instead of the colder look of poly. I use it when I want to be able to add a bit of character to the finish that, e.g., garnet shellac will impart to oiled cherry. I'd like to say I use it when I want to achieve a perfectly flat, glassy smooth, French polish finish, but so far, I've only done that on a few smallish pieces, since most of the stuff I make would not be appropriate for such a finish.

   Mike Hennessy
   Pittsburgh, PA

3. 
   hammer1 | Dec 19, 2008 04:06pm | #4

   I don't use shellac. Used to back in the 50's as a first coat under varnish. The 50's are over.

   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

4. 
   BG | Dec 19, 2008 10:35pm | #6

   Fgnoel,
   I don't really meet your criteria (more experienced)however there are several reasons I like shellac. The warmth and the smell for one thing. It's great when going from stain to varnish to put some shellac on to protect the stain. The big reason for shellac is the cost. I can make up a batch for the job while the flakes stay fresh. I'm tired of having varnish go bad in the can...and running once again to the supplier. All that said, the wipe on varnish is also great stuff.

5. 
   dkellernc | Dec 19, 2008 11:25pm | #7

   There are several reasons to use shellac instead of modern polymerized finish (like the urethane gel you referred to):

   1) Low toxicity (the fumes from the uncured finish), and for the extremely and unjustifiably paranoid, it's completely food-safe (so's cured polyurethane, but I digress).

   2) Nearly instantaneous drying, so no dust issues.  Poly takes quite a while to cure, and you can have significant dust accumulation in the finish.

   3) It can be "rubbed out" - either by sanding or the more traditional french polish method.  Both are suitable when one wants a very high-gloss, absolutely flat finish.  It's difficult, but not impossible, to do this with polyurethane.

   4) It's very easy to tint - quite a number of dyes are available that are alcohol-soluble, not so many that are soluble in polyurethane.

   5) It's easy to repair.  A new shellac coat will dissolve the top layers of the damaged finish and will seemlessly blend in.  In fact, shellac is often the material used to repair a polyurethane finish, because it'll stick where few other finishes will.

   6)  It's traditional (though not period-correct - shellac didn't really come into widespread use until better refining methods yielded a clearer finish).  There's little worse than a fine colonial reproduction slathered with a thick layer of petroleum goo.

6. 
   ted | Dec 20, 2008 07:10am | #8

   "I have seen some really gorgeous shellac finishes but it appears to me that it takes a great amount of effort and skill and time but the wipe-on gel varnish was also a good looking finish. "

   I don't think anything could be further from the truth. The mystic behind shellac lies in the great myth of French Polish (those Frenchmen have a way of making anything seem out of reach for the common man).

   Some of the best finishes I've used shellac on are on pieces that won't take a beating. Like jewelry boxes, chests, hall tables, wall shelves, etc.

   I use Super Blonde flakes exclusively. In a glass bottle (16oz.) usually a beverage container like Snapple. I toss in about 1 1/2 tablespoon of flakes. Then I fill the bottle with denatured alcohol. Let flakes dissolve completely. For a pad I use clean white t-shirt material. I fold an 6" x 6" section into a wad about 1 1/2" square. I saturate the wad by tipping the bottle onto it. When it is wet I take it from the bottle opening and blot a little of the excess on a scrap. then I proceed to apply on the surface of whatever it is I'm working on. I apply in continues rows across the surface, moving in the direction of the grain. When the wad starts to lose some of it's dampness I re-wet. and continue where I left off. I try to re-wet quickly as I don't want the point at where I left off to dry out before I resume applying.
   I do 2 successive applications like this to start out. Then reapply as many times until I get the desired sheen I'm after. After the first two applications I wait at least an hour or more before applying again. On some projects I have applied as many as 15-20 times. Sometimes I sand between applications if I feel too many nibs on the surface. After I've reached the point where I'm satisfied I'll let the pieces sit for a day or more and then apply a wax to enhance the sheen.

   The nice thing about shellac is it is so forgiving. If you don't like it simply wash it off with denatured alcohol.

   
   

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   Edited 12/19/2008 11:11 pm ET by ted

1. 
   fgnoel | Dec 20, 2008 07:40am | #9

   Thanks for all the good information. I've decided to keep practicing to better develop this skill. I'm persuaded that there are some good reasons to do so.
   Frank

2. 
   RalphBarker | Dec 20, 2008 07:25pm | #10

   When mixing a good shellactini, is it best to follow the advice of James Gluebond, "Swirled, not shaken"?

1. 
   AZMO | Dec 20, 2008 08:43pm | #11

   Spoken from a true Laquered up Joint maker.....;>)

   AZMO                  <!----><!----><!---->

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