Shellac vs Varnish

[Gordy Anderson]

I've never used shellac. Does it look similar to varnish when it dries? I'm working on a jewelry armoire with 7 drawers. I (mistakingly) varnished the drawers, so I'm planning to re-coat with shellac to seal in the smell. Is that the right thing to do?

And I'm using red oak, and trying to match some a bedroom set that came from Amish country somewhere in Indiana/Ohio. Does anyone have a feel for what they might have used as a finish? I have the color matched and I'm doing some test pieces but I thought someone here might already know.

Thanks,
Gordy

[Alex Yeilding]

Disclaimer: shellac is my "go-to" finish.

But even with that bias, I have to ask "why?" If you used varnish (not an oil), shouldn't the finish stop outgassing after a few days or weeks? Now, if you had used BLO on the inside of your drawers, I would agree, since it will never stop smelling.

If the "varnish" you used is an oil/varnish mix, and it is continuing to smell, then shellac would be great for sealing it. But it will be different from the varnish (and even more different from an oil/varnish blend). Shellac is naturally high gloss. It can be rubbed down very easily to different sheens, but you need to anticipate that step. Compared to typical other varnishes, shellac is harder, less tough, provides better vapor barrier, easier to apply and get dust free (IMO), is more likely to be damaged by alcohol, and is easily repairable. Those are "top of my head" differences, but there are certainly more.

[Jim Becker]

Alex, oil based finishes on the interior of things tend to off-gas "practically forever". This is a valid concern.

Gordy, shellac will help seal in the odor. It doesn't "look" appreciably different than any other film finish. But you'll want to practice a bit with the application as you cannot brush it out like you can with a slower drying finish like varnish. Or, since your project is small, consider using Zinsser spray bomb shellac...quick and easy. Just do it in a vell ventilated area.

[Jesse Cloud]

Agree with the advice above. Only thing to add is try it on some scrap and see what you think.

IMO, shellac produces a more 'natural' look than varnish. My fave finish for cherry is to spray shellac (from a can for small projects) and rub in some wax with steel wool.

[Gordy Anderson]

I like the idea of the spray shellac, particularly on the larger more obvious surfaces (top, sides, drawer fronts etc). I think I'll try that, and use a cloth on other areas so I get a feel for both methods. Thanks,

[Steven Wilson]

Jim, since he has a base of varnish on there I would just pad a couple of coats of shellac on to seal the smell. Gordy, read up on padding shellac. You might want to look up Paddy Lac as references to him will head you down the proper path.

[Joe Chritz]

I have drawers that have been done in poly and they don't smell but they sat around for a year before being installed anywhere. Eventually they stop smelling but if they are installed right after finish they can't "air out" as well as fast.

Here the amish furniture that is locally made uses commercial pre-cat lacquer. Some is produced at other locations commercially and use who knows what.

Joe

[Howard Acheson]

I like the idea of the spray shellac, particularly on the larger more obvious surfaces (top, sides, drawer fronts etc). I think I'll try that, and use a cloth on other areas so I get a feel for both methods. Thanks,

Gordy, as I said on the other forum, you do not have to do anything to the exterior surfaces of your box. It's the surfaces on the interior that need to be coated to prevent the off-gassing.

I neglected to mention that you could use Zinsser's Spray Can Shellac. It's totally dewaxed and will be easier to apply than trying to brush inside a box. If you miss any spots, you negate the sealing in of the gassing. For a small box like you have, spraying should work out fine.

[Gordy Anderson]

Gordy, as I said on the other forum, you do not have to do anything to the exterior surfaces of your box. It's the surfaces on the interior that need to be coated to prevent the off-gassing.

I neglected to mention that you could use Zinsser's Spray Can Shellac. It's totally dewaxed and will be easier to apply than trying to brush inside a box. If you miss any spots, you negate the sealing in of the gassing. For a small box like you have, spraying should work out fine.

Thanks Howard, In my search here and WN, I saw another poster who was complaining about the smell lingering for quite a while. I had used polyurathane the day before and it was pretty strong smelling, so I was planning to coat them with the shellac as a second/final coat. It's just the drawer sides (false front and bottoms removed) so it's pretty easy and fast to do inside and out.

And I did buy some Zinser spray which I'll try out tomorrow.

[Howard Acheson]

>>> And I did buy some Zinser spray which I'll try out tomorrow.

That should do it....

[Gordy Anderson]

>>> And I did buy some Zinser spray which I'll try out tomorrow.

That should do it....

Most of it turned out great, but the top looks like I got it on too thick.

My research indicates I can use some straight alcohol on a t-shirt stuffed with a sock (never had to do that before;)) to spread it around/even it out/ and maybe remove some in the process.. Should I try that or is there something else I should try?

The drawer fronts are what appear to be very shiny so I'd like to remove some of the sheen. How do I do that?

TIA Gordy

[Alex Yeilding]

Most of it turned out great, but the top looks like I got it on too thick.

My research indicates I can use some straight alcohol on a t-shirt stuffed with a sock (never had to do that before;)) to spread it around/even it out/ and maybe remove some in the process.. Should I try that or is there something else I should try?

I've found that to be a good way to remove the shellac to start over and I use essentially the same thing to pad on new shellac, but I have not had luck using that to "even out" a finish. I end up just polishing the irregularities in the finish and adding lint.:mad:

I'd suggest a light sanding, maybe 400 grit, just to make the finish more even. the 0000 steel wool dry for a fairly flat finish, or 0000 SW with paste wax for a nice satin sheen.


The drawer fronts are what appear to be very shiny so I'd like to remove some of the sheen. How do I do that?

http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/htdocs/rubbingout.htm