To shellac, or not to shellac? That is the question.

[Justin Goeden]

Finishing a cherry storage cabinet project, having the hardest time with finishing. I've tried a mixture of samples ranging from pure tung oil covered with Waterlox Original Formula, BLO covered with WOF, blonde shellac + WOF, garnet shellac + WOF, and WOF by itself.

My two favorites are the garnet shellac with WOF, and the the Waterlox finishing by itself.

Question is, do I really need shellac? I really like how it pops the contrasts grain and makes a nice contrast on the wood as seen here:
322025

But I was also pleasantly surprised by the Waterlox alone results. It's really hard to describe and show in pictures, but it has a nice chatoyance to it. The wood really has a "pop" to it.
322027
322028


My question is this. Do I really need shellac for protection or anything? I'm bummed that I spent the money on it, as finances are tight. I think this is partially the reason I want to use it, so I don't waste it, but I'm really thinking I like the WOF just by itself.

Can anyone just lend some advice?
Also, probably a no-no, but the second pic's surface isn't as properly smoothed and processed as the final product. This was just a scrap piece that I ran some sandpaper over real quick to get some WOF coats down.

[Prashun Patel]

1. What is WOF?

2. You don't need to use the shellac. The Waterlox by itself will be fine.

3. This being said, on large flat, glossy varnished surfaces I like a sealing coat of shellac, sanded to 400. This gives a great base for the Waterlox which will then build more evenly than if you do it on the raw wood.

Are you wiping ?

[Justin Goeden]

Waterlox Original Formula. YOU recommended it! lol. Just kidding, Prashun, love the advice you give.

On these pieces, I sanded well to 220, then ran a scrap piece of 600 over them before WOF application. They were fairly smooth, but the final project is getting a much better sand job.

I wiped these, they have 4-5 coats. How much should I do? They feel decent, but these two pieces are for a daycare, so I want the finish to be fairly thick and strong. I also did some super pale blonde samples with WOF over it, and they didn't have the chatoyance as the WOF did by itself. They look nice, don't get me wrong, but it almost kind of "flattened" them out. Not dull, but definitely takes the pop away.

[Jim Becker]

I do use shellac because I generally use BLO as a first step. Personal preference. And since I use water borne top coats, the de-waxed shellac acts as a barrier coat to insure adhesion since I'm not about to let the oil cure for a month before completing my finishing regimen. :) Since Waterlox is an oil-based finish, the first coat is going to have a similar effect to using an application of oil like I do; hence, the nice effect you experienced.

[Prashun Patel]

You can make it easy on yourself by just using the wof. I have a hard time telling the difference in chatoyance from an oil or shellac finish. IMHO the key is surface prep.

[Bill White]

I have been an advocate of dewaxed shellac as a prep coat for and finish for years.
Just my way, but it has worked for me.
Stuff is surely getting expensive. Bummer!
Bill

[Lud martinson]

Clearly out of my league...but what's BLO?

[Prashun Patel]

Boiled
Linseed
Oil

[Jim Becker]

Prashun, I don't keep any oil based varnish products around, but do keep BLO (actually, I use T&T) and shellac. I usually spray the shellac and water borne top coats. Quite often for just decorative items, I use the oil and wax. It's just a choice I've made over time. That said, I agree that the Waterlox can be a "one stop shop" and does provide very nice effect on figured wood.

[Prashun Patel]

Didn't mean to suggest Waterlox is the only way, just maybe the easy way in this particular situation for the op. I follow your regimen too jim sometimes. In fact I learned about it from you.

[Justin Goeden]

So I finally did the right thing and prepped a few other sample pieces sanded as well as I have the finished product. Sanded to 600, smooth as a baby's bottom. First two coats of WOF look stunning. I'll just stick with the Waterlox only for this project.

[Prashun Patel]

Ymmv but I suggest 9 or more if you want a reasonable film.

[Justin Goeden]

Thanks Prashun.

Is that 9+ coats of wiping or brushing?

[Prashun Patel]

Wiped. Brushed, 4 to 6 for wof