First time shellac user - question.

[John Keeton]

Any secrets to getting the flakes to dissolve fully? I have taken a wallpaper seam roller and crushed the flakes, but still seem to have a lot of "junk" left in the jar. I have filtered it through cheesecloth, but seems I am getting a lot of waste - pretty good wad of stuff left over!

[Peter Quadarella]

Hi John. I'm no expert, but stirring them up seems to help. It can take a while for them to dissolve.

[mike holden]

How long are you letting them dissolve? I generally allow 2 days with a shake of the jar each time I pass by or think of it.
Mike

[John Keeton]

Peter, I have been stirring occasionally, but I think given Mike's comment I may be impatient. I only worked with it for about 30-45 minutes!! I mixed a second batch, and have let it sit overnite. I will work with it some more and give it another day or so. Not in a rush, just didn't know what to expect. I'm mixing a 2# cut.

[Greg Cole]

John,
I usually use a glass jar for mine and let them sit for a few days as well. Using a jar that seals tight allows you to mix a batch and use it and then seal it back up for another day. You can keep it for about a year or so...

Cheers.
Greg

[Jerry Thompson]

I have a cheapy electric coffee grinder. It cost me about $15 a few years back. I toss the flakes in it and grind the devil out of them. I like to think it speeds up the process, however, I have never tried not grinding them to see if it is slower.

[Carl Eyman]

Buy a Waring Blender at a yard sale. I did for $10. reduces waste and shortens process. But better yet buy the liquid concentrate from Homestead Finishing. It is ready immediately, no weighing, no waste. The only downside is they only have two choices: pale de-waxed and dark. So if you want seedlac or one of the others you may have to go back to flakes.
Carl

[John Keeton]

Godd idea Jerry! I will have to watch for one of those. I kind of like this shellac thing if I can get the hang of it. I am using a Critter sprayer, so I have "borrowed" a couple of my wife's pint canning jars to mix the shellac and strain it in. Of course, the Critter uses the same size jar so it works out pretty good. Need to work with the Critter some as I am getting a pebbled surface - not to bad, and it works down ok. Should be able to play with it and get a better surface, and I may try a brush.

[Peter Quadarella]

I have a little rubbermaid container I stole from the kitchen. It works well. Another great thing to have for shellac is a bottle you can squeeze. I pour mine from the container I mix it in, through some cheese cloth, into a bottle that when opened you can squeeze a stream out.

I think shellac is a fun finish to use, and I'm usually looking for a reason to try it out. I'm not great at it yet, and I think it's mostly because I've not been patient enough to put on a thick enough coating.

[John Keeton]

I agree on the fun part Peter. I have been a hobby woodworker for years, and my standby finish was wipe on poly. Very good finish and easy to use. But the warmth and feel of the shellac beats it hands down. Also, much faster to build a finish. My shellac experience spans 2 whole afternoons, so I am on the front end of the learning curve!

I don't really like a high gloss finish - more of a hand rubbed look. So, experimenting is going to be interesting as well. I may try to use the pad method, and then dull it some. The project I am working on at the present is chestnut. The grain is real prominent, and a lot of wormy character, black nail holes, etc., so a high build, high gloss finish doesn't seem to fit the project.

Carl, good tip on the blender - that may work as well or better than the coffee grinder. I want to use the flakes for the color, so the pre-mixed probably wouldn't work.

Anybody used the Critter sprayer? Its really simple and easy to use, but I need to play with it some to get a smoother coat.

[Jack Porter]

I agree on the fun part Peter. I have been a hobby woodworker for years, and my standby finish was wipe on poly. Very good finish and easy to use. But the warmth and feel of the shellac beats it hands down. Also, much faster to build a finish. My shellac experience spans 2 whole afternoons, so I am on the front end of the learning curve!

I don't really like a high gloss finish - more of a hand rubbed look. So, experimenting is going to be interesting as well. I may try to use the pad method, and then dull it some. The project I am working on at the present is chestnut. The grain is real prominent, and a lot of wormy character, black nail holes, etc., so a high build, high gloss finish doesn't seem to fit the project.

Carl, good tip on the blender - that may work as well or better than the coffee grinder. I want to use the flakes for the color, so the pre-mixed probably wouldn't work.

Anybody used the Critter sprayer? Its really simple and easy to use, but I need to play with it some to get a smoother coat.

John,
I have a simlilar satin shellac finsh that I'm aiming for and am about the same point on the learning curve as you. What do you plan to do to knock down the gloss? I have 3 wiped on coats of shellac and it is very glossy, I was thinking about knocking it down with 4/0. I saw on another thread that people use kraft paper to do this, anyone do this before?

[Kelly Anderson]

I have a gas stove and when I mix up a new batch I put the jar on the stove above the pilot light. The warmth helps it to dissolve faster. I also found that the flakes sold by Lee Valley dissolve extremely fast.

[Wayne Cannon]

Now THAT sounds scary!

[John Keeton]

Jack, I have 2 coats on this project (actually 5 identical boxes), and was going to knock off the nubs. Decided to experiment with the finished look while I was at it. I plan on putting 4-5 coats on, and thought I would take some time between them to play with the look.

I used 4/0 which I understand some don't like, and buffed with a brown paper sack. It actually looks pretty good. The 4/0 leaves a more dull look and not consistent, but the buffing with the brown paper really gives it a nice feel and look.

Cary Swoveland was working through some boxes and posted this thread http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=87625 on which Alfred Cole shared some ideas that I am going to try, as well.

I think the variations with shellac are endless, and I want to do some more research. That's part of what intrigues me about this finish. My previous addiction to wipe-on poly became boring - same every time.

Wayne, the pilot light is usually under the stove top, unexposed, but warms the stove top. That is probably what Kelly is saying. If the jar is capped, I don't think it presents much danger except from the wife!

[Alfred Cole]

As I have said before, I use shellac quite a lot. With orange flakes I use an air tight jar and just cover the flakes with meth when I finish in the evening and they are ready next morning. De waxed and blond flakes take longer. It's not unusual for them to take a couple of days. I don't think heat is a good idea because even dry flakes react adversely to excessive heat.

Normally I try to mix just enough for the job in hand, but home mixed flakes have a fairly long shelf life. Don't worry about bits in the shellac. As I have explained previously using a rubber or pad with an inner core of cotton wool provides a natural filter if you load from the back.

John,

To drop the finish down from gloss to satin try either tripoli powder or talc. Tripoli being a bit harsher. You can mix it into a slurry with water providing you have allowed some time for curing, but although it's a bit more messy, I have used the powder dry.

Jerry

War does not decide who is right. War only decides who is left

[Joe Cunningham]

I like shellac and have used 0000 wool to knock down the gloss, but I think I might try the brown paper bag idea.

I have some Hock garnet that just builds so much better than stuff I had gotten in a can. I'll likely use that on my next finishing project, a cabinet for all my hand planes, which hopefully will begin this weekend (if the glue-up goes well tonight, and clean-up tomorrow). Though the milk paint is also calling out to me.

Since I am mostly a neander WW, these old finishes kind of tug at me. Hmm, shellac or milk paint. I suppose I could mix the finish--part of the cabinet shellac (maybe the face frame), part milk pain (case). Might make for an interesting contrast.