Amber WB Poly?

[Jerry Bruette]

How can I get amber colored WB Poly without the cost of Enduro-var?

Would wiping on a coat of regular oil-based followed by spraying any old WB work?

I have about 950 ft^ to do and I'd like to spray.

TIA
Jerry

[Jamie Buxton]

On cherry, I've done one coat of wipe-on solvent-based varnish for color, followed by several coats of uncolored waterborne. It works pretty well. Let the varnish cure for several days before you put waterborne on it.

[Steve Schoene]

TransTint dye can be added to the WB finish. Suggest you test before doing the whole project.

[Phil Thien]

If you have the time to do the oil first, I think that would provide the best results (at least aesthetically).

[Scott Holmes]

Since you are spraying; a light spray coat of 1# or so de-waxed shellac in whichever color works best for you is the easiest; it will be ready to top coat before you can finish the 950 sq. ft.

[Bill Graham]

Since you are spraying; a light spray coat of 1# or so de-waxed shellac in whichever color works best for you is the easiest; it will be ready to top coat before you can finish the 950 sq. ft.

Agree 100%, the shellac brings out the grain and color and in 30 minutes you're ready for a quick scuff sand and a recoat with any WB finish you prefer. Do it all the time.

Or you can tint the poly but spraying and getting an even color just got an order of magnitude more difficult.You have to be pretty good with a spraygun to make that work, it takes some practice.

Best,
Bill

[Jerry Bruette]

Since you are spraying; a light spray coat of 1# or so de-waxed shellac in whichever color works best for you is the easiest; it will be ready to top coat before you can finish the 950 sq. ft.

Is shellac hard to spray? The only thing I've ever sprayed is some oil based paint with an airless sprayer.

I'm going to have a learning curve with the WB.

Don't have any fancy spray equipment either. Was thinking of the cheapo HVLP unit at Harbor Freight. I know how most people here feel about HF, but I hate to spend abunch on spray equipment and not use it alot.

[Scott Holmes]

Since you're spraying you need to learn how to apply a light even coat. Waterborne is a bit thicker than the shellac both spray well with practice.

Learn your gun with water on cardboard then try the shellac on the cardboard to see how it sprays.

TIP: Read the directions on the gun learn to adjust it and make sure you move the gun THEN pull the trigger; let go of the trigger then stop moving the gun. This will save you a lot of drips, runs and sags...

[John TenEyck]

Shellac is about the easiest thing to spray, especially the lighter cuts like Sealcoat shellac which is a 2# cut. It sprays great through the HF gun I have with a 1.4 mm tip. Some place around 20 psi inlet pressure at the gun is a good starting point. (Forget what it says on the box or directions - they are worthless.) That gun also sprays most WB finishes well, too, at around 30 - 35 psi, but many of them need to be thinned first to get the viscosity in the correct range for that orifice.

Spraying is not hard, it just takes some practice. The idea is put on enough that will flow out into a smooth film but not so much that you get runs or sags. Using shellac as a sealer only requires you to get the wood wet, you don't even need a full wet film. That makes it easy to avoid runs. With WB products it's a bit harder but still not all that hard. With the products I've used what looks like not quite enough actually is enough, it will flow out into a continuous film after a few minutes. If you spray on so much that it looks blue or white, that's too much, and you most likely will get runs/sags on any vertical surface. Obviously, anything you can spray flat and horizontal is a lot easier to do well. Verticals require more attention, and spraying the interior of a cabinet is the hardest.

John

[Prashun Patel]

I have a similar HVLP unit from Woodcraft or Rockler; I can't remember where I got it.

I spray shellac frequently with no issue. The key is to dial it way back so it just barely sprays, and to thin your shellac; If all you're looking for is a little warming color, then Zinsser Sealcoat may be your ticket. It's thin enough to spray and is blonde in color. It's also dewaxed.

On a larger surface, I'd skip the oil, and just do the shellac followed by the topcoat.

[Mike McCann]

if you decide to spray the shellac. you really do not need to spray anything else shellac is a good enough topfinished coat.

[Jerry Bruette]

Lots of questions about shellac.

Does amber shellac lighten in color if it's thinned?

Does it get darker with each coat?

How many coats of shellac would I need? I understand shellac shouldn't be used as a built up finish.

What kind of coverage could I expect from one gallon of sprayed shellac?

[Curt Harms]

I can't really answer your questions, I mostly use SealCoat but have tinted with TransTint which worked well. There's another benefit to shellac that no one has mentioned - using alcohol not water, it doesn't raise the grain. I've used shellac both as a primer and barrier coat. 'Latex' paint | shellac | oil based poly (to resist kitchen & glass cleaners).

[Phil Thien]

Just make sure you experiment with the shellac. I've been overall disappointed with the trouble getting a nice even film form shellac. I know, I know, I'm the only guy in the world that can't make shellac work. But I sure have not been thrilled with any shellac finishes I've tried.

[Prashun Patel]

Lots of questions about shellac.

Does amber shellac lighten in color if it's thinned? Yes, but only slightly.

Does it get darker with each coat? To a point. Once the film builds, the color stays about where it is.

How many coats of shellac would I need? I understand shellac shouldn't be used as a built up finish. It's hard to say unless you are precise about thinning and shooting. I am not precise about either. I just thin and shoot and then every several coats I wait for any trapped solvent to evaporate and then sand it very lightly. I'd say I do about 3 coats that way with Sealcoat.

What kind of coverage could I expect from one gallon of sprayed shellac? 1 gallon will be (I believe) plenty for your project.

[John TenEyck]

It often is said that the thinnest layer of shellac that forms a continuous film is the correct amount. When spraying something like Sealcoat three coats should be plenty enough to do that in most cases. But when I'm using it under a WB topcoat I typically spray only one coat of shellac, then proceed with the WB. The only time I spray multiple layers of shellac under a WB topcoat is if I'm using it with Transtint dye as a toner where I might need to spray two or three coats to get the color I want. I recommend you keep it simple. Spray one coat of shellac and then move on to your WB topcoat. I think you should be able to cover around 400 FT^2 with a gallon of Sealcoat.

Neither shellac nor (most) WB topcoats are particularly dangerous to use, but do wear a respirator with organics cartridges when spraying them and provide good ventilation. I've read the hangover from inhaling alcohol fumes is really bad.

John