How to Apply Shellac

All about shellac

[三Sān]

Seeing this three years later and it’s still extremely helpful. Especially, when you haven’t used it in a decade

[joybidwell]

Great tip on storing brushes in shellac!

[larrybarry]

According to wikipedia: Shellac is a resin secreted by the female lac bug on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes and dissolved in alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and wood finish. Shellac functions as a tough natural primer, sanding sealant, tannin-blocker, odour-blocker, stain, and high-gloss varnish. Shellac was once used in electrical applications as it possesses good insulation qualities and it seals out moisture. Phonograph and 78 rpm gramophone records were made of it until they were replaced by vinyl long-playing records from 1948 onwards.

[mpobri]

Storing the brush in the can is perfect idea I never would have arrived at, thanks!

[amymoran]

I have 2 slices of wood from a tree that I use for display purposes. One of them is splitting like yours. Is there another way to stop it from splitting further 😊other than the way you did with the "butterfly"? That way looks sort of complicated and it looks like I would need special tools that I probably don't have.

[MikeDGuitar]

Cool video, Mark! I'm trying to learn how to coat wood because I had a computer desk with a damaged top. I took off the veneer and cleaned the top with some synthetic steel wool and Murphy wood cleaner. It looks pretty good, better than it did anyways. Would you recommend a stain to give it a nice professional look?

[guyfawkes]

Just an fyi from a fire engineer… your shop is a fire hazard. You should do something about it.

[charlespshaju]

can I apply shellac for sealing, protecting & polishing wooden cutting board? If yes, should we need to apply any mineral oil or wax after shellac? Please advise

[nejdro]

I store my shellac brushes by dipping them in shellac and then tightly wrapping them in plastic or aluminium foil. After a few days, if they start to get stiff, just open it up, dip it in fresh shellac, and it will be fine for another few days. Shellac will always re-dissolve in fresh shellac or grain alcohol ( denatured).

[maheshprabhu]

Namaste 🙏 Mark,
Receive Greetings from India 🇮🇳.

[sakiacaso]

I like it when it's not scripted it's more natural

[hakamabugharbieh]

I know that shellac sealer is best for interior, does it hold up on exterior wood???

[sonicpsycho]

Modern Windex and other glass cleaners no longer contain ammonia, because they'd often be used in areas alongside bleach. Today, it's isopropyl alcohol.

[Orange-Jumpsuit-Time]

Avoid all the poison, make your own shellac using shellac flakes dissolved in everclear (grain alcohol).

[briholt]

How much shellac to keep the brushes wet? I could see the quality well. Does the brush have to be submerged or does the tip of the brush, say a 1/4 inch need to be wet?

[jaimegenovajr]

Hi! Can I put Shellac over the Danish oil? Thanks for your reply

[jlcfinishcarpentry]

Excellent video! Do you recommend shellac for veneers?

[vermontjeff]

Can you get a really smooth top finish out of it ? Can you cut & buff ? What’s the best 1st class way to make it a mirror finish . And thanks

[drewpritchett]

If I have runs around my edges, what is the best solution? Will another coat hide it or should I send it?

[MeowfaceMusic]

Hi Mark,
I’m making big bass marimba bars (percussion instrument that will be struck thousands of times with a medium hard mallet and will vibrate like crazy over and over and over). Traditionally they finished with oils and waxs, though I want to experiment with other stuff. For my experiment phase—in order of best to worst—can you please suggest/brainstorm what you think might work out for coating/sealing wooden bars that will be taking a lot of inherent abuse? With all the beating and vibrating, for instance, might shellac or lacquer or polyurethane or wood hardener or an acrylic poor be too brittle, resulting in getting rattled and crushed to death and breaking apart microscopically over time? Also consider which finish would be the most scratch resistant. (Bars will be stored in stacks and slid against each other with the potential of dirt and sand bits in between. Thanks for brainstorming with me 👍🏻