Zinsser Spray Shellac

[Mike Conley]

Does anybody have any tips for spraying a smooth even coat of shellac with the Zinsser Spray Shellac?

When I use this, the shellac lays down with kind of an orange peel appearance. It does not lay down nice and smooth.

I am trying to spray the shellac as instructed on the can.

[David Christopher]

Mike, I just bought a can of that about two weeks ago and had the same problem... I sprayed a few different scraps with different tecniques, all with same results, then threw the rest away

[Dewey Torres]

I used it to seal my shoe cubby. The key is to hit it with steel wool between coats and on the final coat let the fine particles just fall onto it. I got a "close to" glass smooth finish but it is hard to get perfection out of a spray can.

[Mike Conley]

I used it to seal my shoe cubby. The key is to hit it with steel wool between coats and on the final coat let the fine partials just fall onto it. I got a "close to" glass smooth finish but it is hard to get perfection out of a spray can.

I am using it as a sealer between BLO and varnish so I will sand it smooth. However, I would like to be able to lay it down smoother so that I would not have to sand it as much.

[Greg Cuetara]

I used this on the crib and changing table I built with great results. I used the shellac as a barrier coat and then used Waterlox as a top coat. A few things to think about...If you want good results go very very thin on the coats and use 3-4 coats. If you don't think you have covered an area don't worry about it because you will pick it up on the next coat. I was covering Cherry and Maple and had great results in the end. Also, when you are spraying you want to be about 12" plus away from the wood and spray in an even manor starting before you hit the wood and not ending until you are on the other side of the wood.

I tried to use the shellac on a christmas project and didn't have great results...I think that was because I was trying to spray in 10 deg weather in my garage and I also tried to put on 2 heavy coats instead of 4 very very thin coats.

Make a trial board with different techniques and see if something works for you.

[glenn bradley]

I have success with it but generally use it to pre-coat details or tight spots. It works great for things like the little toy airplane shown on the can. For better pieces, I don't use it. Sanding between coats with 400 and then 600 before the last very light coat will help but, the types of things I use it on don't lend themselves to sanding. The vehicle is not as friendly as DNA either so I use it sparingly. If at all possible, pad your shellac

[Jim Becker]

If you are referring to the Zinsser spray bomb shellac, I've used a lot of it purely for convenience and have not had the issues you describe. I use generally thin coats and hit it with 400 grit very lightly to remove any surface contamination or raised grain nibs after a couple coats. You have to be careful with shellac not to build too thick of a layer (It all becomes one layer, unlike varnishes) as it sometimes can craze or otherwise act up like you describe.