Shellac

WW'nTip-of-Day #048: Shellac

A little basic knowledge on shellac and it'll soon become a favorite finish.

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Bonus: Bob Flexner

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[Rotary_Phone]

I like how you just got straight to the point out the gate!

[sjtherese]

Sir, your wood shop, is STUNNING. Gosh all that wood against the nice wooden tools. So earthy and beautiful

[mtz]

I used Shellac for the first time, and I'm impressed with the ease of use, clean up, and dry times. I'm impressed with the finished look. I appreciate your video. Great info.

[hramsay]

ZINZER DECODED: The first letter “S” identifies the plant that packaged the product.
The first number is the last digit in the year the shellac was packaged.
The second number is the month.
For October, November & December the first letter is used instead of a number: “O, ” “N, ” “D.” The third and forth numbers provide the date within that month.

[Dr_Xyzt]

Shellac has become my absolute favorite finish for exactly the reasons you mentioned.
-- For glass smooth finishes, A shellac finish takes 3 hours, where my old oil or poly finishes took between 4 days, and 2 weeks!
--I buy Zinsser and use the 3lb cut to build my finishes. For tabletops, I'll do a 320 grit scuff and cap it with 2 coats of oil poly so junk doesn't get stuck in the grain.
-- When my zinsser cans are down to about half, I top them off with alcohol for a near 1lb cut and use that as my early coats for a finish. It's just super convenient. It doesn't have to be perfect either.
-- I do have the "build can" where I mix my other partially empty cans into it, so the fluid never goes below 1/3.
-- For finishes that ABSOLUTELY must be perfect, like brand new floors, or very chatoyant tabletops, or historic restorations, I'll use flakes or button shellac.
-- Shellac has yielded some of the most beautiful finishes I've ever done. I installed a white oak floor, sanded to 220, 3 coats of 1lb garnet, 2 coats of 3lb amber, and 3 coats of water poly. The owner was okay with my $20/sq ft pricing too. "This is nicer than your demo pieces. I've never seen wood shine like cats eyes, much less the whole floor!"

[buddywilson]

I have been using Flexner's book as my finishing "bible" for 20 plus years. Thanks for the video.

[DonsWoodies]

One of my favorite finishes. Still mix my own from flakes. And I LOVE those little bottles you are using. I use them for everything from Shellac to Glue, to Alcohol. very convenient and cheap as heck. One of the best things HF sells.

[PaganWizard]

The great part of making your own shellac at home, is that whether you use denatured alcohol, or moonshine, or Everclear, after the shellac dries and cures, it's food safe, unlike the stuff found on the shelf at your favorite store.

[davidmurray]

Good afternoon Sean:  Thank you for what you do!  One additional bit  about shellac, , , , shellac is the  dissolved shell of the lac wax is the naturally occurring wax cuticle which  protects the beetles' shell from environmental exposure and from actually freezing to death even in a warm climate  also  from fungi,  molds and bacteria intrusions.  Thank you again for what you bring to the trade.  David Murray.

[CheeseBae]

Best video I've seen on shellac so far. Thank you, helped a lot!

[OaksCreations]

Frickin sweet video! Awesome info! Thanks!

[paulskvorc]

I have used shellac almost exclusively for the past 20 years. While not 'perfect' for EVERY application, it's a great finish.

[williambosco]

When I first started learning wood repair the "old timers" would say "shellac will stick to anything, and anything will stick to shellac" :) What I do for a good finish is make a wash coat I'll mix 50% shellac 50% alcohol, and then (after sanding) spray 3-4 coats of pre-cat laquear

[keithkennedy-tyson]

Great information I've been producing poor finishes just because I didn't have anyone to explain its qualities to me, so thanks for the help Keith from Tasmania

[Greneby]

“My opinion is - Choose one or two methods and stick with it! I use four.” 😂

[michaelogden]

For my purposes, I prefer multiple coats of 1 pound. I mix flakes (amber or blonde or platina), finely ground with a cheap spice grinder with Everclear in pint jars. I store the pints in my pantry with appropriate labels. Thanks for the video!

[meanders]

Hey Shawn, they just filter shellac to remove the wax. You can dewax your own by allowing the wax to settle to the bottom of the container and decanting off the clear wax-free portion. I think the solids that had settled in your bottle of 3 lb cut were wax that you re-suspended when you shook it.

[NillWill]

I've been using the Zinnser bullseye seal coat for years as a sanding sealer under water based clears and two part poly (auto finish) for drum sets, and some art/ turned pieces!
Sprays well also, just like to brush or wipe on the first coat to work it into the pores real well.
Once it's on, dont go back and mess with it till its dry, you can end up with a bit of "dragging" effect.
Thanks for the info neighbor!

[springwoodcottage]

Shellac also lasts well. We have some 18th century pieces that some time got shellac & what hasn't seen water or alcohol is still pristine, mirror like finish & quite beautiful. I once heard a talk by a coffin maker who said his job had been to French polish the coffin so smooth that if a fly landed on it, it would slip & break its neck. By contrast more modern pieces we have with a spray lacquer finish, show many places where the lacquer has failed & needs replacing & often the surface isn't as smooth as shellac. Personally I like to buy the grains & mix with meths (in uk dyed purple, but this doesn't show in end product) making only small amounts as needed. Sometimes adding a tiny bit of linseed oil to improve the motion across wood if it becomes a little frictional. Normally I never tie off the cloth, just wrapping it around cotton waste or cotton wool & recharging the centre. The outside cloth eventually wears but the centre cotton goes on indefinitely, going hard, but quickly re-softening with new shellac or just alcohol. I keep this rubber as usually called in the uk, (could be problem name in US!) in a tight lidded jar that often stops alcohol evaporation. For longer term protection where water or alcohol might be encountered I put food/toy safe acrylic on top, otherwise just beeswax. My favourite finish as I like the colour is natural shellac & also because it dries so fast. Following Paul Sellers I sometimes apply with an hake brush, but I like the rubber best. Thanks for sharing!

[DZNTZ]

Shellac doesn’t actually ‘layer’, that’s one of its cool qualities. As you add shellac, it liquefies the previously added shellac - so no matter how much you add, it becomes part of the SINGLE layer of shellac. This is why French polishing gives you a deep, flawless result, because you have one perfect layer of finish. (Wellermart has a great selection of quality flakes to mix your own FRESH batch in whatever color or consistency you like)

I don’t think M&M uses shellac anymore, but many candies still do. I’ve been inside a plant where they spray the shellac on the candies and I can tell you it ain’t pretty. It’d make you think twice about that handful of Reese’s Pieces, for certain. Thank you for your excretion, Lac beetle🪲 !