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View Full Version : Fixing a thick coat of shellac



Harry Muscle
11-26-2010, 7:13 PM
I'm "refinishing" a piece of furniture that's painted black. It's nothing too fancy, but I'd still like to do a good job on it. I decided to go with spray paint to simplify things. I've had trouble in the past with spray paint peeling, so I decided to do a layer of shellac as an in between layer to make sure everything bonds to each other.

After scuffing the old paint with steel wool, I applied two coats of shellac, however, it turned out someone bumpy (like an orange peel). I have a feeling I put it on too thick. I know that I could remove it with alcohol, but I really would rather not deal with the mess, etc. So I was wondering if there's anything wrong with just sanding the shellac a bit to remove the high parts of the "orange peel", and then coating it with the black spray paint.

As a side question, is there anything inherently bad about a thick coat of shellac? Or is the recommendation for thin layers purely to make sure it goes on smooth?

Also in case it matters, the shellac is Zinsser Bulls Eye Shellac in Spray Can format and the paint is Tremclad (Canadian name for Rustoleum, I believe) Professional High Performance Rust Enamel (apparently this one has better water resistance than most other paints from Rustoleum ... which is a plus for this item of furniture).

Thanks,
Harry

Scott Holmes
11-27-2010, 12:07 AM
A thick coat of shellac will alligator (crack) as seen on old furniture that has had too much shellac applied.

Two spray coats from the rattle can, should not be too thick; but it may be... Scuff sand it flat and you are probably good to go.

Harry Muscle
11-28-2010, 8:59 PM
Awesome.

Thanks,
Harry