Brushing Shellac ?

[Ed Gibbons]

I will be putting down garnet shellc on a large table top. I don't have a sprayer so I will use a brush. Because it dries so quickly, I usually get streaks.

Any suggestions? :confused:

[glenn bradley]

I can't take credit for this, its a Jewitt method.


Take three or four layers of a 6" square of cheese cloth.
Fold it up till it's about the size of a golf ball.
Wrap this in a 6" square layer or two of soft lint-free cloth (a washed to death t-shirt works but you'll need the two layers)Now you can just fold the corners up and hold them or fold them up and wrap a rubber band on it like I do. There, your "applicator" is ready.

Prep a good amount of 1.5lb cut shellac. and pour some in a squirt bottle. If your surface is really big, prepare a couple bottles as you do not want to stop in the middle of this.

Dip your applicator into the shellac. Begin wiping the shellac on your surface as if you were waxing your car. As you move forward, supply more shellac ahead of your pad from the squirt bottle. Keep going until you have covered your entire surface.

The trick here is the cheese cloth holds a good amount of finish but releases it to the outer layer easily so things just flow along.

Not near the size of a table but here's (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=65591&highlight=Jewitt) my first try at this. Other larger pieces have been done as well but I do not have pics at this location. It is easier than I ever thought it would be and works great.

[Scott Velie]

Glenns method sounds good. I usually just use a good lint free rag folded carefully into a square. (no wrinkles). Then I dip it in the shellac with a gloved hand and just partially squeeze it out.
I try to do full strokes from end to end with no lifting. Just go right off the end with the pad. Do not go back and try to fix things. Better to just wait and do a light sand before the next coat. By the time all your coats are on you will be a pro and there will be no errors.

[glenn bradley]

Scott makes a good point that I completely left out. . . run that pad right on off the end of the surface and do not "go back". Shellac dries too fast for "go backs" but, is resoluble. Let the first coat dry for half an hour or so, goof and all. Then go back and fix it.

One benefit of the squeeze bottle is if your surface is real long, your pad won't go dry on you before you get to the end of your stroke. Oh, and Scott's right on with the gloves. when finishing the last thing I want to worry about is 'anything' other than what I'm doing. That includes getting finish on my pinkies.

[Steven Wilson]

A good brush (Omega Lilly Oval) that has a large reservoir will be able to flow at least one path on a table top. You should have enough time to reload and maintain a wet edge so that the new lap will flow with the previous. You need to work quick and it's good to practice on some scrap to get it down. You can also lighten up on the cut (say a 1 1/2lb cut) and even use a retarder (see Jeff Jewit). If it's cold outside that can help to (retards the drying a bit). Garnet, since it's so dark, can be a bit difficult. After you get some color building you might want to switch to a Kusmi or Orange shellac which is less susceptible to the color streaks. Also, reactivating the surface with a bit of alcohol (lightly damp pad with a wee bit of shellac and a bit more alcohol) can let areas blend in a bit. Try this on scrap before you commit to the project.