Shellac over BLO

[Greg Labacz]

Can you put shellac as a finish over BLO?? I'll be buildin same small treasure boxes out of walnut and some from mahogany that I have found in my shop. To my understanding BLO makes the wood pop.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Greg,

I put shellac over BLO all the time on my turnings. I use dewaxed shellac as often I will then put brushing lacquer over that. On my turnings I friction apply the BLO, shellac and the lacquer which greatly decreases the cure times. Using this method on the lathe, the total time to finish a project is 10-15 minutes. The only question I would have and I would entertain the opinion of someone with more experience is if in your situation, you need to wait a while before applying the shellad so the BLO can cure.

[Larry Fox]

Yeah - dewaxed shellac and BLO work very nicely together. I typically let the BLO cure for about a week before I apply the shellac but I don't know if a week is necessary though. General rule of thumb that I have always heard is that "shellac sticks to everything and everything sticks to shellac". This seems to be true as it is used frequently as a tie or bridging coat. Shellac is easy to prepare, easy to apply, looks great, can be tinted, easily repaired, great sealer, comes in many colors - heck it even smells good. I have seen no downsides to shellac (other than lack of resistance to alcohol) as of yet other

[Roger Newby]

I like to wait about a week after using BLO before applying shellac. This will give the BLO enough time to dry. I usually spray 2 coats of shellac with a light sanding between coats then follow with paste wax. I have used lacquer after the shellac for more water resistance and then paste wax.

[Greg Labacz]

Thanks for the input guys, I'm going to give it a try and eventually get you pics..

[Scott Holmes]

BLO needs 24 hours to cure. I'm in Houston and it is hot and humid here so I give it 48 hours unless I'm in a hurry.

Shellac sticks to teflon.

I use fresh de-waxed shellac mixed from flakes.

[Prashun Patel]

Waiting a long time for BLO to dry is only necessary if you're putting a lot on. The BLO doesn't need to penetrate that deep. You can basically moisten a rag with it, wipe it on fairly wet, then try to wipe most of it off.

Done this way, you can get to shellacking later that day. The BLO will be dry, or will dry through the shellac, especially if your first couple shellac applications are thinned.

[Jim Parmeter]

i recently finished a cradle with BLO and Shellac where I did the entire schedule in one day and it turned out great. Like Shawn said the key is how much BLO you put on. I put on a thin coat of BLO to pop the grain, waited an hour, and then padded on shellac in two sessions, with each session consisting of four very quick coats. Waited about two hours in between sessions.

[Jim Becker]

Shellac over BLO is a standard finish for me for decorative items and some furniture. Shellac is also my go-to barrier coat over BLO when I'm going to use the water borne finish that I typically spray on items that need more "protection".

[Rich Engelhardt]

Shellac sticks to teflon.

Nope - it'll pull off.

Well - maybe - since it's been like close to 40 years....

Tried it w/B*I*N.

Only XIM clear will adhere to Teflon.
& then only after a Xylene wash.

I made up a display sample once using a Teflon frying pan with stripes of different materials on it.
After a 1 month cure, I stuck masking tape across and ripped it off.

The only product to survive was the XIM clear.
This was also done prior to XIM making a pigmented (white) version.
(or to be exact -repacking Glidden #500 surface bond - which is what XIM clear actually was @ the time - XIM bought the #500 in drums and poured it off into gallons and quarts then put their lable on it).

Dang it anyhow!!!!
Now my curiosity is up!
I'm wondering if Seal Coat will survive a Teflon test.
I just might scour some garage/tag sales for a Teflon frying pan & try it out.

[Scott Holmes]

To be more specific... I have never tried shellacing a teflon coated pan... I see no reason to do that.

I use teflon tape (the stuff for plumbing) on the theads of my glass mason jars; makes them much easier to open.

The shellac stick to it very well; better than the varnish or lacquer or water-borne finishes.

[Chad Wallace]

Where is the best inexpensive place to purchase shellac flakes?

Thanks,

[Scott Holmes]

Depends on what's available locally, for you. When I buy multiple pounds at one time; I use shellacshack.com. When I need just a pound, I buy it from Woodcraft.

[Kieran Kammerer]

Why the thumbs down?

[Larry Fox]

Where is the best inexpensive place to purchase shellac flakes?


Best and inexpensive are not always the same place. I buy all my shellac from Homestead Finishing. They disolve quickly and I have never had anything but a positive experience with their shellac. They sell in most colors.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

Shellac sticks to teflon.

seriously?

[Greg Labacz]

Update.. I have put 2 coatings of shellac on my box so far, waiting 1 to 2 days between each, and it looks great. I'm going to put 1 more coat on and let it be. I put only 1 coat in the interior of the box to seal the wood. Pics to follow.

[Howard Acheson]

>>>> I'm wondering if Seal Coat will survive a Teflon test.

SealCoat is just dewaxed shellac. If standard shellac will not stick to Teflon, then SealCoat won't either.

I had a friend who was a big shellac proponent. He uses to say that "shellac will stick to anything, even peanut butter". He was given to hyperbole in many of his colorful statements.

[Scott Holmes]

"I had a friend who was a big shellac proponent. He uses to say that "shellac will stick to anything, even peanut butter". He was given to hyperbole in many of his colorful statements.[/QUOTE]"

Howie, Is his name Steve or Jim?

[Rich Engelhardt]

SealCoat is just dewaxed shellac. If standard shellac will not stick to Teflon, then SealCoat won't either

Not so sir.

Seal Coat is refined shellac.

It's a 100% inorganic coating.

Natural shellac is an organic coating.

The differences between organic and inorganic coatings fill volumes of technical manuals.
They are night and day apart.

But then again, there's more flavors of Teflon than you can shake a stick at...
My sample - circa 1970's - is probably no longer the same Teflon as today.

[Scott Holmes]

Rich,

I think we are splitting hairs here... Seedlac is the only shellac that is not refined.

Generally the more refined the shellac the lighter the color. Wax is normal in shellac the de-waxing is another "refining" process.

I'm with Howie on this; Seal coat is highly refined de-waxed shellac it's a 2 pound cut the other Zinsser cans are 3 pound cuts that still contain wax.

Their aerosol shellac is also de-waxed, not sure of the cut but it's less than a 2 pound cut.

[Jerry Olexa]

Dewaxed shellac over cured BLo is a standard step in the finishing process for me....

[Neal Clayton]

Where is the best inexpensive place to purchase shellac flakes?

Thanks,

i've used both shellacshack.com and shellac.net no preference for either, really, depends on price. both have always shipped same day and the product was fine.

as for shellac over BLO, it was standard practice for moldings, floors, etc. until about what, 40 years ago? history says it does just fine ;).

[Greg Labacz]

Well here's some pics. more to follow

[Greg Labacz]

here they are. The side view shows the hinge arrangement, a 3/16 threaded brass rod ( about 2" long ) screwed into lid then cut off excess and sand .