"lemon" oil on top of shellac = whitening?

[jonathan king]

I know that "lemon" oil is just lemon-scented mineral oil.

Question: if a piece of wood is finished with shellac, will applications of lemon oil over the shellac cause the shellac whiten or discolor?

[glenn bradley]

I'm sorry to answer aquestion (especially one I cannot answer) with another question but, why would you? Shellac is a sealer and I don't know that any oil would give you the result you are after. I do use a paste wax after shellac about half the time without issue if that is any help (Johnson's Paste Wax). I do appreciate your question and will be curious as to the responses ;-)

[Mike Null]

I doubt that it will discolor the shellac but I don't know why you wouldn't use wax.

[Scott Holmes]

What else was put on the shellac surface before the oil?

That's what most likely turned white.

The "French Polish" technique uses shellac and mineral oil as the lube to apply the shellac.

[jonathan king]

That's what most likely turned white.


Nothing has turned white yet. I'm just wondering if the mineral oil will discolor the shellac.

I've shellacked a scrap piece of wood and will hit it with lemon oil to see what happens.

[Scott Holmes]

Why the lemon oil?