Here's a question that, no matter how much I've read and tried to
research, I've never gotten a definitive answer to, and I think
it's a simple yes/no answer:
Shellac: Great for priming/filling/initially smoothing a
surface, quicker drying, and so on.
But, it's inherently not a tough finish, easily damaged, etc
etc..
So, how about, on bare wood:
-- Seal coat with shellac to seal; sand lightly to remove the
raised fibers.
-- Second coat, sanded lightly, finest reasonable grit, whatever
it may turn out to be, as more of the same as above, but giving a
little depth to the finish (I think)
-- Three or four coats of Poly or even varnish, sanded between
of course, each time, for good adhesion.
IS that any improvement over just running grit to, say, 220 and
three/four coats of poly/varnish?
Or is it overkill?
Or, would it be a complete waste of time?
I've used shellac on a few lamp turnings and man, they came out
wonderfully great! But, for anything that will get some moderate
use and might have any chemicals (water, oils, etc.), it doesn't
seem to be much good unless one just likes the ease of touching
it up, which isn't that great with liquid rings, etc..
Like many a woodworker/closet-cabinet-maker, I do great until I
get to the finishes. I hate doing the finishes because I'm never
sure of what I'm doing <g>, even though they at least come out
"OK", sometimes a little better.
TIA & Regards,
Pop
I do the same as you. I tend to think of shellac as a primer for fine
finishes..... as compared to a paint primer for painted finishes. I
always sand both before applying next product. Once you have used a
primer, you will never do without.
"Pop" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:9bkPf.5414$6h1.4087@trndny09...
> Here's a question that, no matter how much I've read and tried to
> research, I've never gotten a definitive answer to, and I think it's a
> simple yes/no answer:
>
> Shellac: Great for priming/filling/initially smoothing a surface, quicker
> drying, and so on.
> But, it's inherently not a tough finish, easily damaged, etc etc..
>
> So, how about, on bare wood:
> -- Seal coat with shellac to seal; sand lightly to remove the raised
> fibers.
> -- Second coat, sanded lightly, finest reasonable grit, whatever it may
> turn out to be, as more of the same as above, but giving a little depth to
> the finish (I think)
> -- Three or four coats of Poly or even varnish, sanded between of course,
> each time, for good adhesion.
>
> IS that any improvement over just running grit to, say, 220 and three/four
> coats of poly/varnish?
>
> Or is it overkill?
>
> Or, would it be a complete waste of time?
>
> I've used shellac on a few lamp turnings and man, they came out
> wonderfully great! But, for anything that will get some moderate use and
> might have any chemicals (water, oils, etc.), it doesn't seem to be much
> good unless one just likes the ease of touching it up, which isn't that
> great with liquid rings, etc..
>
> Like many a woodworker/closet-cabinet-maker, I do great until I get to the
> finishes. I hate doing the finishes because I'm never sure of what I'm
> doing <g>, even though they at least come out "OK", sometimes a little
> better.
>
> TIA & Regards,
>
> Pop
>
>
>
>
>
lucky4fingers wrote:
> Shellac is easy & wonderful to use. You can put as much effort into it
> as you want from"slop it on" to "French rubbing". For runs either
> sand/scape it down or use denatured alchol. It dries quick, no
> obnoxious smell/fumes, and relatively non toxic.
Whaddays mean "relatively" - they put the stuff on M&Ms and apples :-).
--
It's turtles, all the way down
Tim Douglass wrote:
> Shellac itself is non-toxic, but the denaturing agents in the alcohol
> normally used to dissolve it can be quite toxic. Make sure you have
> adequate ventilation unless you like waving good-bye to your brain.
Or just use pure ethanol, and then you can use it to mix drinks while
you're waiting for the finish to dry...
Chris
Shellac is easy & wonderful to use. You can put as much effort into it
as you want from"slop it on" to "French rubbing". For runs either
sand/scape it down or use denatured alchol. It dries quick, no obnoxious
smell/fumes, and relatively non toxic. You can sand/scape it to a
wonderfully smooth finish. I use it as the final finish on stuff that
doesn't get kid/heavy use - (bookcases...) I believe it looks a lot
better than poly also. just my .02
"CW" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> Zinser shellac says right on the can that they don't recommend it
> under poly.
>
> "Pop" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:9bkPf.5414$6h1.4087@trndny09...
>> Here's a question that, no matter how much I've read and tried to
>> research, I've never gotten a definitive answer to, and I think
>> it's a simple yes/no answer:
>>
>> Shellac: Great for priming/filling/initially smoothing a
>> surface, quicker drying, and so on.
>> But, it's inherently not a tough finish, easily damaged, etc
>> etc..
>>
>> So, how about, on bare wood:
>> -- Seal coat with shellac to seal; sand lightly to remove the
>> raised fibers.
>> -- Second coat, sanded lightly, finest reasonable grit, whatever
>> it may turn out to be, as more of the same as above, but giving a
>> little depth to the finish (I think)
>> -- Three or four coats of Poly or even varnish, sanded between
>> of course, each time, for good adhesion.
>>
>> IS that any improvement over just running grit to, say, 220 and
>> three/four coats of poly/varnish?
>>
>> Or is it overkill?
>>
>> Or, would it be a complete waste of time?
>>
>> I've used shellac on a few lamp turnings and man, they came out
>> wonderfully great! But, for anything that will get some moderate
>> use and might have any chemicals (water, oils, etc.), it doesn't
>> seem to be much good unless one just likes the ease of touching
>> it up, which isn't that great with liquid rings, etc..
>>
>> Like many a woodworker/closet-cabinet-maker, I do great until I
>> get to the finishes. I hate doing the finishes because I'm never
>> sure of what I'm doing <g>, even though they at least come out
>> "OK", sometimes a little better.
>>
>> TIA & Regards,
>>
>> Pop
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
On Fri, 17 Mar 2006 08:01:31 -0800, Larry Blanchard
<[email protected]> wrote:
>lucky4fingers wrote:
>
>> Shellac is easy & wonderful to use. You can put as much effort into it
>> as you want from"slop it on" to "French rubbing". For runs either
>> sand/scape it down or use denatured alchol. It dries quick, no
>> obnoxious smell/fumes, and relatively non toxic.
>
>Whaddays mean "relatively" - they put the stuff on M&Ms and apples :-).
Shellac itself is non-toxic, but the denaturing agents in the alcohol
normally used to dissolve it can be quite toxic. Make sure you have
adequate ventilation unless you like waving good-bye to your brain.
--
"We need to make a sacrifice to the gods, find me a young virgin... oh, and bring something to kill"
Tim Douglass
http://www.DouglassClan.com
lucky4fingers <[email protected]> writes:
>Shellac is easy & wonderful to use. You can put as much effort into it
>as you want from"slop it on" to "French rubbing". For runs either
>sand/scape it down or use denatured alchol. It dries quick,
> no obnoxious smell/fumes,
I would argue with this. The alcohol fumes can be quite obnoxious. I
certainly would use breathing protection when using Shellac in a confined
area, and just because I find the odor annoying, I'd use breathing protection
in a ventilated area, too.
<http://www.syndel.com/msds/denatured_ethanol_msds.html>
scott
Zinser shellac says right on the can that they don't recommend it under
poly.
"Pop" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:9bkPf.5414$6h1.4087@trndny09...
> Here's a question that, no matter how much I've read and tried to
> research, I've never gotten a definitive answer to, and I think
> it's a simple yes/no answer:
>
> Shellac: Great for priming/filling/initially smoothing a
> surface, quicker drying, and so on.
> But, it's inherently not a tough finish, easily damaged, etc
> etc..
>
> So, how about, on bare wood:
> -- Seal coat with shellac to seal; sand lightly to remove the
> raised fibers.
> -- Second coat, sanded lightly, finest reasonable grit, whatever
> it may turn out to be, as more of the same as above, but giving a
> little depth to the finish (I think)
> -- Three or four coats of Poly or even varnish, sanded between
> of course, each time, for good adhesion.
>
> IS that any improvement over just running grit to, say, 220 and
> three/four coats of poly/varnish?
>
> Or is it overkill?
>
> Or, would it be a complete waste of time?
>
> I've used shellac on a few lamp turnings and man, they came out
> wonderfully great! But, for anything that will get some moderate
> use and might have any chemicals (water, oils, etc.), it doesn't
> seem to be much good unless one just likes the ease of touching
> it up, which isn't that great with liquid rings, etc..
>
> Like many a woodworker/closet-cabinet-maker, I do great until I
> get to the finishes. I hate doing the finishes because I'm never
> sure of what I'm doing <g>, even though they at least come out
> "OK", sometimes a little better.
>
> TIA & Regards,
>
> Pop
>
>
>
>
>
Tim Douglass <[email protected]> writes:
[...]
> Shellac itself is non-toxic, but the denaturing agents in the alcohol
> normally used to dissolve it can be quite toxic. Make sure you have
> adequate ventilation unless you like waving good-bye to your brain.
Or pay for the good stuff! Almost pure ethanol with just an
inevitable hint of water is no more poisonous (if you do not drink it)
than a couple of beers or glasses of wine. The anti-drunkenness tax
makes this expensive.
--
Dr. Juergen Hannappel http://lisa2.physik.uni-bonn.de/~hannappe
mailto:[email protected] Phone: +49 228 73 2447 FAX ... 7869
Physikalisches Institut der Uni Bonn Nussallee 12, D-53115 Bonn, Germany
CERN: Phone: +412276 76461 Fax: ..77930 Bat. 892-R-A13 CH-1211 Geneve 23
Juergen Hannappel <[email protected]> writes:
>Tim Douglass <[email protected]> writes:
>
>
>[...]
>
>> Shellac itself is non-toxic, but the denaturing agents in the alcohol
>> normally used to dissolve it can be quite toxic. Make sure you have
>> adequate ventilation unless you like waving good-bye to your brain.
>
>Or pay for the good stuff! Almost pure ethanol with just an
>inevitable hint of water is no more poisonous (if you do not drink it)
even 100% ethanol has traces of 2-propanol along with methanol or benzene
which are quite toxic.
scott