Finishing trim - Help Please!

[Rick Schubert]

I’m finally getting around to putting up all the window and door trim in our cabin/house. It is semi-rustic with a lot of 25 year old pine & fir aged to a honey color on all the ceilings and floors. I can’t tell what was used, if any finish at all. It is very low sheen to flat. We replaced all the wood on the walls with drywall, painted an off-white, to lighten it up. I am using 1 x 4” #2 white pine with knots for all the trim.

I’m thinking of finishing with a few coats of shellac to avoid the outgassing from polyurethane. Is this a mistake? My other option is probably to whipe on oil-based poly and let it age. I used poly on the pine doors I installed.

Over time, will shellac darken faster, slower or about the same as poly? Any suggestions as to which shade of shellac to use from the selections at Homestead to match the look of the older wood? Any suggestions as to technique if I go with the shellac?

Thanks, Rick

[Loren Hedahl]

I'd just brush the shellac on.

The main thing is to use a de-waxxed shellac. I just go to Home Depot and buy the Zinzzer stuff from the can. A couple or three coats then a light sanding with about 200 grit and you are good to go. The stuff dries almost immediately.

Good luck.

[Steve Schoene]

The shellac will darken quite a bit less than oil based polyurethane varnishes over time, though the underlying wood will still darken naturally. I would brush the shellac on using a very fine bristled watercolor wash brush. It doesn't lay down a lot of shellac on each coat, but it lays it down evenly. The key to brushing on shellac is to work quickly and never go back to rework any area, either when you miss a spot, or have an overlap. I'd use a relatively light cut 1 1/2 or 2 lb. cut.

Which color shellac depends greatly on the particular color you are trying to achieve. I'd get one relatively dark shellac that looks to be in the right color range, and also some super blonde. That way, when you reach the right color you can shift to the blonde and build to the surface you want without making it darker and darker with each coat.

If you aren't planning to overcoat with polyurethane or with a waterborne finish whether you use dewaxed shellac or not is not very important. Traditional resin varnishes will adhere to shellac with wax should you do decide down the road to over coat the shellac. Having said that, there isn't any reason to avoid dewaxed shellac, it's a bit more water resistant and a little clearer than shellac with the natural wax remaining.