Can I glue up and shellac the same day?

[Eric Heinz]

Would one or two thin layers of shellac on the outside of a table leg and rail assembly inhibit the curing of Titebond III in the joints?

I understand that thick shellac is a good vapor barrier, but I would only put on one or two thin coats.
Does Titebond cure by releasing moisture?
Would alcohol vapors inhibit Titebond?

It will be hot and dry today in my shop. I might even put the assembly out in the hot sun.

Thanks for your advice.
Eric

[Mike Henderson]

I've never heard of a problem, or had one myself. Shellac is not a absolute vapor barrier - no finish is. The moisture from the glue will disperse in the wood and eventually come out through the finish.

But do you really need to finish so quickly? Why not set the piece aside for a few hours to a day before applying the finish?

Mike

[Brian Kent]

Glue and clamp firmly.

Place in bed of truck.

Drive north 100 miles to Riverside.

Bake at 93° for one hour.

Drive home.

Apply shellac.

If you take the 5 instead of the 15, add 30 minutes baking time as it's a little cooler and more humid in Tustin today.

[Dell Moore]

I used to be in the furniture repair business, and I have to say I would NEVER hurry up the glue up stage. Just leads to problems down the road.

BTW, are you using water based shellac (yuck) or traditional?

Good luck!

Dell

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I used to be in the furniture repair business, and I have to say I would NEVER hurry up the glue up stage. Just leads to problems down the road.

BTW, are you using water based shellac (yuck) or traditional?

Good luck!

Dell

Water based shelac! That's a new one to me, sounds like a mess! Just out of curiosity, what is the brand on that stuff?

[Frank Drew]

Eric,

Taking the clamps off too soon is more of an issue than applying shellac, but if you're talking about a couple of hours after glue-up, neither should be a problem. I'd probably be more conservative with a panel glue up, such as a table top.

[Howard Acheson]

Couple of things.

First, shellac is intended to be applied as a thin film. Too many applications will leat to checking or cracking in later years. Generally a film that you would get from 2-3 coats of 1 1/2# to 2# is what you want.

Second, yes, shellac will inhibit the full curing of a waterbased adhesive. Adhesives harden in two steps. First is the evaporation of the water. Second is the mixing of oxygen with the remaining chemicals to produce full strengh and hardness. Shellac will impede the evaporation of the water and also impede the passage of oxygen. I would not coat a glued joint for 3-4 days.

Third, you would probably want to sand the joint before finishing. However, the moisture in the adhesive will have caused a slight swelling of the wood areas of the glueline. Sanding too soon will level these moisture raised areas and when they later fully dry, they will be sunken compared to the non-glued areas. Again it takes a few days for the moisture to escape before you want to sand.

Finally, Titebond III is a slow setting adhesive which also means it takes somewhat longer to fully cure and develop full strength.

[Jim McFarland]

Water based shelac! That's a new one to me, sounds like a mess! Just out of curiosity, what is the brand on that stuff?

Target Coatings sells a WB shellac: Oxford UltraSeal-WB™ Water-Based Shellac Sealer & Barrier Coat

Near the bottom of this page:
http://www.homesteadfinishingproducts.com/htdocs/targetcoatings.htm

I've never used it so can't say if the stuff works well. I use a pad to apply shellac but would consider the WB if spraying warranted (I don't like the idea of spraying alcohol-based shellac in the garage).

[Dell Moore]

Water based shelac! That's a new one to me, sounds like a mess! Just out of curiosity, what is the brand on that stuff?

Hey Steve,

Someone below has sited a water based shellac, I only used (once) what my company supplied. I found it extrememly fragile and difficult to work with and promptly stuck it in the "Useless" pile. It can only be spray on after being applied by padding or spraying. I'd stick with a traditional shellac no matter what.

Dell