Demystifying Shellac

I agree, but all in all, it's not a bad shellac write up (as noted it was
taken from the Rosewood Studio website) to pass along to shellac newbie's.

Cheers

Andy

"Bay Area Dave" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I was with you right up to the "tack rag"...there's more con than pro
> for using a tack rag, A.D.
>
> dave
>
> A Dubya wrote:
>
> > Here is a little info on shellac that may be helpful and or informative.
> >
> >
> > Prior to any finish the wood must be adequately prepared for finishing.
This
> > means that we hand plane the surface until it is completely smooth. You
can
> > go directly to finish if you like the effect of leaving some fine tool
marks
> > on the surfaces of your work. If you want to have a perfectly flat,
smooth
> > surface, sand the planed surface with 400-grit sandpaper. Remove the
dust
> > with your bench brush, and then with a tack rag. You may wish to vacuum
off
> > the wood, but remember to hold the vacuum nozzle off of the surface.
Wipe
> > the surface with a clean cotton rag.
> >
> > Shellac is a classic finish that can be applied with a minimum of
> > difficulty. We choose to mix our own shellac so that we can control the
> > "cut" or the amount of shellac in solvent. A good solvent to dissolve
> > shellac flakes is denatured alcohol (ethanol with methanol added). This
is
> > readily available a hardware stores in USA, but not so in Canada. The
use of
> > ethanol is a safe process, since this is the same non-toxic alcohol used
in
> > liquor. Some manufacturers use isobutanol to retard the drying time of
the
> > finish, which improves workability as the shellac mix is applied to the
> > wood. Behkol is a commercial product from the Behlen Company, which
contains
> > 95 % anhydrous ethanol, and 5 % isobutanol. Other products used to
dissolve
> > shellac that are available in Canada are the Lee Valley Shellac solvent,
or
> > methyl hydrate.
> >
> > Shellac is actually a secretion of the "lac bug" know technically as
> > "Laccifer lacca". These insects live in trees in India and Thailand.
They
> > feed off the sap in the twigs, and then secret a cocoon - type shell
which
> > is the source of our shellac. Workers shake the tree branches to
dislodge
> > the cocoon, thus harvesting raw shellac know as sticklac. In this form
it is
> > unrefined, and will include pieces of twigs. The shellac is then refined
to
> > remove the debris, and to reduce the natural wax in the lac. Excess wax
> > reduces clarity in the finish, and reduces moisture resistance in the
> > finish.
> >
> > There are several grades of shellac. Orange shellac is a mid grade with
> > about 4 % wax content. This grade can be used on dark woods, where the
> > orange color does not change the color of the wood. Orange shellac is
less
> > refined, and is therefore less expensive than blonde shellac. Blond and
> > Super Blond shellac is highly refined, such that the wax content is down
to
> > 1%. The flakes are light yellowish brown in color. The dewaxing and
> > bleaching is achieved by bubbling Chlorine gas through the shellac. This
is
> > the desired shellac for most fine furniture applications.
> >
> > Mix your blonde shellac in a small jar with ethanol. It will take
several
> > hours to dissolve the flakes. Determining your desired cut is an
empirical
> > process. You simply look at the color of the mixture using window light.
We
> > typically use two cuts - one for thin wash coats that is thinner, and a
> > thicker cut for quickly building coats of shellac. The color may be
> > described as looking like "thin apple juice". If you have excess shellac
in
> > your mix, you will notice that your pad begins to stick to the wood as
you
> > attempt the padding process. If this occurs, simply add more solvent.
Note
> > that shellacs have a shelf life of about 6 months, so mix the shellac
when
> > you need it. Old shellac develops gummy substances during a process
called
> > esterification where organic acids react with the alcohol. The net
result is
> > that the mixture will not cure properly.
> >
> > Application of the shellac is done as a simple padding process. Make a
> > "pillow" out of a clean white cotton rag that is about 12 inches square.
> > Continuously fold in the corners to make a rounded pillow. Apply your
> > shellac mix to the bottom of the pillow, and then gently wipe the pad
across
> > the wood, with the direction of the grain. Use a technique of landing
like a
> > plane - touch the wood going right to left at about 1/3 of the distance
from
> > the right side of the board. Run the pad across and off the left side of
the
> > board. On the next pass, start the padding coming from the left side,
> > landing on the wood 1/3 of the distance from the left side of the board,
and
> > running right off the right side of the board. Work from the far side of
the
> > panel towards yourself, indexing by ½ of the pillow width per pass. The
> > pillow should be moist, but not wet. Recharge the pillow periodically to
> > ensure that you continue to lay down shellac, and that the surface of
the
> > pad in moist, but not dripping wet. Excess shellac mix in the pad will
cause
> > the previously applied shellac layers to be re-dissolved, which defeats
your
> > building process.
> >
> > After the first coat, allow the panel to dry for 15 minutes. Shellac
dries
> > quickly due to the high alcohol content. If the wood feels cool, the
shellac
> > is not dry enough to proceed. Apply a second thin coat and allow this to
dry
> > 15 minutes to ½ hour. We will eventually build up 7 or more coats, and
the
> > drying time will increase as the coats build. Apply a third coat and
allow 1
> > hour for it to fully dry. Cut back the finish now with 0000 steel wool.
Cut
> > about a foot of steel wool off of your roll, and fold it twice to make a
> > hand sized pad for burnishing your finish. This process will knock down
any
> > raised grain, and flatten the surface. Use Liberon brand cabinetmakers
steel
> > wool without petroleum based oil in it - these oils adversely affect
your
> > finish. Apply a 4th coat, and allow it to dry 2 hours. Burnish the
surface
> > lightly with 0000 steel wool. Wipe off the steel wool debris with your
bench
> > brush, and then dust off the surface with a clean cotton rag before the
next
> > layer of shellac. Add the 5th, 6th, and 7th layers with 6 hours of
drying
> > time or more between them. Burnish the surface with steel wool between
each
> > layer, and then again after the 7th and final layer. You will now have a
> > satin sheen that is extremely smooth. If during the steel wool process
you
> > feel a gummy surface, you will have to extend your drying time between
> > layers to allow the shellac to fully cure.
> >
> > A fine wax is sometimes applied on top of shellac. One such wax is
Clapham's
> > bees wax. This is a natural bees wax mixed with Carnauba wax to improve
> > luster. Apply a thin coat of wax in a circular motion with a clean
cotton
> > rag in the shape of a pillow. Brush out the wax by making linear strokes
> > with the grain - in the same fashion as the padding process for shellac.
> > Burnish the surface with steel wool immediately after applying the wax -
> > this puts a scratch pattern into the wax to achieve a satin finish.
Brush
> > off the steel wool debris with your bench brush, and then with a clean
> > cotton rag. Buff the wax with a clean cotton rag. You will have achieved
a
> > wonderfully smooth satin finish.
> >
> > Maintenance
> >
> > If the surface has minor damage, you may steel wool the surface, wax the
> > surface, burnish with steel wool, and then buff the surface with a clean
> > cotton rag.
> >
> >
> >
> > Taken from Rosewood Studio
> >
> >
>

I was with you right up to the "tack rag"...there's more con than pro
for using a tack rag, A.D.

dave

A Dubya wrote:

> Here is a little info on shellac that may be helpful and or informative.
>
>
> Prior to any finish the wood must be adequately prepared for finishing. This
> means that we hand plane the surface until it is completely smooth. You can
> go directly to finish if you like the effect of leaving some fine tool marks
> on the surfaces of your work. If you want to have a perfectly flat, smooth
> surface, sand the planed surface with 400-grit sandpaper. Remove the dust
> with your bench brush, and then with a tack rag. You may wish to vacuum off
> the wood, but remember to hold the vacuum nozzle off of the surface. Wipe
> the surface with a clean cotton rag.
>
> Shellac is a classic finish that can be applied with a minimum of
> difficulty. We choose to mix our own shellac so that we can control the
> "cut" or the amount of shellac in solvent. A good solvent to dissolve
> shellac flakes is denatured alcohol (ethanol with methanol added). This is
> readily available a hardware stores in USA, but not so in Canada. The use of
> ethanol is a safe process, since this is the same non-toxic alcohol used in
> liquor. Some manufacturers use isobutanol to retard the drying time of the
> finish, which improves workability as the shellac mix is applied to the
> wood. Behkol is a commercial product from the Behlen Company, which contains
> 95 % anhydrous ethanol, and 5 % isobutanol. Other products used to dissolve
> shellac that are available in Canada are the Lee Valley Shellac solvent, or
> methyl hydrate.
>
> Shellac is actually a secretion of the "lac bug" know technically as
> "Laccifer lacca". These insects live in trees in India and Thailand. They
> feed off the sap in the twigs, and then secret a cocoon - type shell which
> is the source of our shellac. Workers shake the tree branches to dislodge
> the cocoon, thus harvesting raw shellac know as sticklac. In this form it is
> unrefined, and will include pieces of twigs. The shellac is then refined to
> remove the debris, and to reduce the natural wax in the lac. Excess wax
> reduces clarity in the finish, and reduces moisture resistance in the
> finish.
>
> There are several grades of shellac. Orange shellac is a mid grade with
> about 4 % wax content. This grade can be used on dark woods, where the
> orange color does not change the color of the wood. Orange shellac is less
> refined, and is therefore less expensive than blonde shellac. Blond and
> Super Blond shellac is highly refined, such that the wax content is down to
> 1%. The flakes are light yellowish brown in color. The dewaxing and
> bleaching is achieved by bubbling Chlorine gas through the shellac. This is
> the desired shellac for most fine furniture applications.
>
> Mix your blonde shellac in a small jar with ethanol. It will take several
> hours to dissolve the flakes. Determining your desired cut is an empirical
> process. You simply look at the color of the mixture using window light. We
> typically use two cuts - one for thin wash coats that is thinner, and a
> thicker cut for quickly building coats of shellac. The color may be
> described as looking like "thin apple juice". If you have excess shellac in
> your mix, you will notice that your pad begins to stick to the wood as you
> attempt the padding process. If this occurs, simply add more solvent. Note
> that shellacs have a shelf life of about 6 months, so mix the shellac when
> you need it. Old shellac develops gummy substances during a process called
> esterification where organic acids react with the alcohol. The net result is
> that the mixture will not cure properly.
>
> Application of the shellac is done as a simple padding process. Make a
> "pillow" out of a clean white cotton rag that is about 12 inches square.
> Continuously fold in the corners to make a rounded pillow. Apply your
> shellac mix to the bottom of the pillow, and then gently wipe the pad across
> the wood, with the direction of the grain. Use a technique of landing like a
> plane - touch the wood going right to left at about 1/3 of the distance from
> the right side of the board. Run the pad across and off the left side of the
> board. On the next pass, start the padding coming from the left side,
> landing on the wood 1/3 of the distance from the left side of the board, and
> running right off the right side of the board. Work from the far side of the
> panel towards yourself, indexing by ½ of the pillow width per pass. The
> pillow should be moist, but not wet. Recharge the pillow periodically to
> ensure that you continue to lay down shellac, and that the surface of the
> pad in moist, but not dripping wet. Excess shellac mix in the pad will cause
> the previously applied shellac layers to be re-dissolved, which defeats your
> building process.
>
> After the first coat, allow the panel to dry for 15 minutes. Shellac dries
> quickly due to the high alcohol content. If the wood feels cool, the shellac
> is not dry enough to proceed. Apply a second thin coat and allow this to dry
> 15 minutes to ½ hour. We will eventually build up 7 or more coats, and the
> drying time will increase as the coats build. Apply a third coat and allow 1
> hour for it to fully dry. Cut back the finish now with 0000 steel wool. Cut
> about a foot of steel wool off of your roll, and fold it twice to make a
> hand sized pad for burnishing your finish. This process will knock down any
> raised grain, and flatten the surface. Use Liberon brand cabinetmakers steel
> wool without petroleum based oil in it - these oils adversely affect your
> finish. Apply a 4th coat, and allow it to dry 2 hours. Burnish the surface
> lightly with 0000 steel wool. Wipe off the steel wool debris with your bench
> brush, and then dust off the surface with a clean cotton rag before the next
> layer of shellac. Add the 5th, 6th, and 7th layers with 6 hours of drying
> time or more between them. Burnish the surface with steel wool between each
> layer, and then again after the 7th and final layer. You will now have a
> satin sheen that is extremely smooth. If during the steel wool process you
> feel a gummy surface, you will have to extend your drying time between
> layers to allow the shellac to fully cure.
>
> A fine wax is sometimes applied on top of shellac. One such wax is Clapham's
> bees wax. This is a natural bees wax mixed with Carnauba wax to improve
> luster. Apply a thin coat of wax in a circular motion with a clean cotton
> rag in the shape of a pillow. Brush out the wax by making linear strokes
> with the grain - in the same fashion as the padding process for shellac.
> Burnish the surface with steel wool immediately after applying the wax -
> this puts a scratch pattern into the wax to achieve a satin finish. Brush
> off the steel wool debris with your bench brush, and then with a clean
> cotton rag. Buff the wax with a clean cotton rag. You will have achieved a
> wonderfully smooth satin finish.
>
> Maintenance
>
> If the surface has minor damage, you may steel wool the surface, wax the
> surface, burnish with steel wool, and then buff the surface with a clean
> cotton rag.
>
>
>
> Taken from Rosewood Studio
>
>