Bulls Eye amber shellac

[Rick Lucrezi]

Just got some today. Going to do a pine wainscot. I have seen this amber shellac in many older homes, but some have a glossy finish. What product is used to accomplish this?

[Joe Chritz]

Everytime I have used the pre-mix shellac it came out pretty glossy from the can. If it isn't enough you could rub it out afterward or use a de-waxed shellac in amber and then top coat with a water clear finish of some kind.

I like the pre-mix stuff and use it a lot for drawers and cabinet backs and the like that either needs to be repairable easily or doesn't get banged around.

Joe

[Sue Wise]

I would just rub it out to the sheen that you want.

-Sue

[Rick Lucrezi]

So no clear coat gloss finish? This old cabin I know of it would have taken along time to rub to the gloss it has.

How about its compatability to oil base products?

[mike holden]

Rick,
It takes a couple coats to build a gloss finish, but glossy it will be.
Usually, people want to knock it back to a satin.

I would put some coats on a sample board, let it dry and then decide.

For furniture, I usually wax it with briwax using a synthetic steel wool pad. this gives a good feel to the surface and leaves it shiny but not "plasticky"

Sample boards are your friend.

BTW, you can apply any finish over shellac so you can always put a clear coat over it if that's what it takes to get the look YOU want.

Mike

[glenn bradley]

As Mike says; once I build a few coats of shellac I am usually trying to knock some of the gloss down. Left alone it should be pretty glossy. From your post I will take it that the finish you are getting is not glossy enough. If you're looking for a high gloss poly kind of a look I would use a stain or dye to get the color you want and then use a gloss poly product as a topcoat.

However, in my experience I get about the same look from shellac and poly. I will use poly for a table top if I expect a lot of abuse but, the rest of the piece will be shellac as I prefer it. For end tables and such I use shellac only.

[Rick Lucrezi]

Used some scraps for tests. I did three coats and used 0000 steel wool between coats. It was shinny but not glossy. I am looking for eaasy clean up. I thought about using it on the door trim which is also yellow pine. After three coats, I dont have the impression it would hold up well to scrubbing. Do I need more coats? Also. I ran about a 4 foot section of the wainscot and it was harder than I thought. The stuff dries really quick so it got away from me. I used a rag with the D alcohol and it got some of it cleaned up but it looks like the I have areas where it ran a bit near the bevels. I am hoping it will sand out when it dries? Any thoughts about best way to apply over large areas? I thought this was the most common product for wood paneling back in the day and that it was pretty much fool proof. I guess if any one can screw it up it would be me.

[Jarrod McGehee]

ok I've got a question referring to shellac. Can you spray it?

[Dave Lehnert]

ok I've got a question referring to shellac. Can you spray it?

Yes!

http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=31

[mike holden]

Rick,
Three coats can be pretty thin, not sure how you are applying it. Nice thing about shellac is you can build up as many coats as you wish, the alcohol dissolves the top of the previous coat so, no matter how many you apply, there is really only one layer - it just gets thicker. In French Polishing, you may add hundreds of really thin coats to fill the pores and create a glossy surface. Or you can brush on several thick coats with "scuff sanding" in between and get a smooth glossy surface.
But, if your sample boards are not giving *you* what *you* want, try something else, that's why you make sample boards.
Good Luck!
Mike

[Prashun Patel]

If it were me, I'd give it a coat of amber shellac for color, and then use a gloss varnish. A wainscot is designed to get some beating, and the varnish seems more appropriate.

If yr spraying, shellac'll be a piece of cake. If yr brushing, varnish will be more forgiving.

I wouldn't try to rub a wainscot UP to a higher sheen, neither would I try to french polish it. Yr just asking for tendonitis and a lot of cursing. Plus, the grooves will gather the lube or abrasive you use. Polishing is best (IMHO) reserved for flat pieces.

Please post pix (especially of yr base and cap treatments). I love wainscoting.

[Howard Acheson]

Shellac gives you a glossy finish naturally.

Shellac is not finish to use if you will want to be scrubbing the surface. Shellac is damaged by many cleaning chemicals particularly those that contain ammonia. If you want to be able to aggressively clean a surface, nothing beats an oil based varnish.

That brings up another point. If there is an chance you will be using a poly varnish top coat over the shellac, you MUST use a dewaxed shellac. The Zinnser Bulls Eye is not dewaxed. Their dewaxed shellac is called Seal Coat. However, the Seal Coat is not an amber shellac. It's a blond shellac and quite a bit less yellow/orange than their amber.

[Rick Lucrezi]

Ok, The can does say Traditional Sealer and Finisher. DO it has wax? So do I do a wax finish like floors? In researching Shellac, I came across articles about shellacing wood floors. Sounds like a nice way to go, the jist is put on the shellac, then wax the floor with a liquid wax and buff.
What are my options for toping? (It looks good, I have pictures and am trying to fiqure out how to bundle them and post), but I still want to be able to clean the trim around the doors.

[Prashun Patel]

I'm not sure I understand the post. But if yr asking whether it's good to put shellac on floors, my bet is only if yr not planning on walking on it. Shellac and wax don't seem appropriate choices for hard use surfaces potentially subjected to direct water.

[Jim Becker]

Rick, only the cans labeled "SealCoat" are de-waxed. The "traditional" product is waxy shellac. Fine by itself. Fine under alkyd or phenolic resin varnishes. NOT fine under water bornes or anything with polyurethane in it.