Shellac questions

[Steve Fish]

Good morning everybody,
I would like to get some finish on a hard board work surface. I have a quart of bullseye here but honestly I don’t have any experience with this stuff. Not sure if I need to thin the first coat with DNA or what the best way to apply it is. Do I need the seal coat version instead? If anyone can help me with a little step by step that would help a ton. I don’t mind screwing things up for the learning experience but this is not one of those times. Ballpark size is 33x70. Thanks for any input
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[Andrew Seemann]

Regular Bullseye is a 3lb cut, which is a bit on the thick side, and thinning it usually helps. I tend to use Seal Coat (2lb cut) straight from the can, but the first coat on that masonite will get sucked up pretty fast, so thinning it a little might help there as well. Basically if the shellac seems thick and is fighting you, just pour some dna in until the consistency works for you.

If there is any question on the age of the shellac, test it on scrap first. It can start having drying issues after about a year or so of shelf life. There is info on the zissner site on how to read the date code. This is also a reason not to go hog wild stocking up on cans. I normally have a can or two on hand, maybe three if I have a lot of projects going on at once.

A brush or rag works fine for application. It dries minutes after you apply it, so have to work quickly; you can't keep going over it like varnish. The "right" technique shows itself pretty quickly.

You don't need to sand between coats for adhesion, but it helps with smoothing and leveling. Two or three coats of Seal Coat is probably good for that table. You also don't need to wait hours between coats. It doesn't cure like varnish; the solvent just needs to evaporate, although if you have really thick coat, it may take a while for the solvent to completely be gone. If it sands without gumming it can be sanded.

I usually put the first coat on, wait until it is dry enough to sand, hit it with sandpaper to even things up, and then put the second coat on. If I do a third, I might wait until the next day, since it seems like each coat takes longer to evaporate the solvent.

I personally like shellac as a finish; Seal Coat is my default finish for everything if i don't have a reason to use something else.

[Paul F Franklin]

Andrew covered all the important stuff very well. I would just recommend using a rag or a shellac pad (easy to make your own). If you use a brush, you will likely get a lot of runs and buildup, not on the surface, but in all the holes. With a pad it's very easy to apply very thin coats which should minimize the buildup in the holes (but you'll still get some). And while I'm no expert at all, I find it easier to get even coats on large surfaces using a pad instead of a brush. But shellac is so forgiving that any problems are easy to correct. Of course spraying is an even easier way to get even coats on large surfaces.

[Jim Becker]

I agree with either spraying or ragging/padding it on unless you have experience with brushing shellac. You cannot brush it in the same way you would varnish or other types of finishes. Technique matters, largely because it dries lickety-split fast.

[Steve Fish]

Thank you guys so much. The wealth of information here is outstanding. I looked around the net and the more I read the more confused I got. I just don’t have any experience with all the natural wood finishes and the techniques. Everything I’ve ever done was mostly supplied interior wall and trim paints. I’m hoping to learn more by doing these little shop projects and trying some different things.
I ended up with about a 1/3 cut of alcohol and rubbed it on with some gauze wrapped in a small piece of an old cotton shirt. Definitely not pro results on my first try but on the other hand I don’t think I wrecked anything just yet. 👍