Shellac durability

[Rick Peek]

I'm building a coffee table with a tiger maple top. I am having
a hard time deciding on a top coat. I really like Shellac and
have had really good luck spraying it. I just don't know if it's
durable enough for a coffee table. I could spray laquer, but
I hate the smell. (I don't have a finish room) and its
getting pretty cold around here. I have a Quart of Arm-R-Seal
but I'm not real keen on Polys although I've heard good things
about it.

[Dennis Peacock]

Rick,

Shellac is fairly durable after it's fully cured (about 4 weeks), but you can use a water based lacquer that will give you the protection your looking for without having to use poly. I have two school desks that I french polished with blonde dewaxed shellac and they've held up pretty good, but they have scratches in them from the school books and heavy use. It's easy enough to patch with shellac and get that "new" look back, but for a longer more durable finish? I'd use lacquer. I'm really partial to a finish that can easily be repaired and poly isn't one of those that can be patched without the patch being visible. :rolleyes:

[Rick Peek]

Rick,

Shellac is fairly durable after it's fully cured (about 4 weeks), but you can use a water based lacquer that will give you the protection your looking for without having to use poly. I have two school desks that I french polished with blonde dewaxed shellac and they've held up pretty good, but they have scratches in them from the school books and heavy use. It's easy enough to patch with shellac and get that "new" look back, but for a longer more durable finish? I'd use lacquer. I'm really partial to a finish that can easily be repaired and poly isn't one of those that can be patched without the patch being visible. :rolleyes:

What brand do you recommend?

[Jim Becker]

Rick, I have shellac on several tables and it's held up fairly well, but with kids around now, I've pretty much moved to top-coating with Target Coatings USL for better long-term results. That's my preferred water borne finish, but the December 2006 issue of Fine Woodworking has a nice article on a bunch of water borne finishes that you may find useful. While the author was very much concerned with brushing, all of them spray beautiful.