Zinsser clear shellac on cherry

[Bruce Mack]

I am making a serving tray with an india ink ebonized oak bottom and low cherry sides. I used the Zinsser product, not dewaxed, of uncertain age which has been unopened on my shelf since purchase. Diluted 1:1 or 1:2 it performed very well, drying quickly and bringing out the figure in the cherry as well as darkening the wood nicely. Using either a brush or a foam pad with as much care as I could, I could not reduce the the surface undulations in a manner that satisfied me. After trying many times and after using
very fine steel wool I had to use 3 M 400 grit paper without a sanding block to level the finish. The shellac more than held its own with no breakthrough to the wood surface. After an application of Briwax I have a nice sheen on a surface with just enough undulation in glancing light to be pleasing. It is absolutely smooth to touch. There is no blotching as I have gotten with oil varnish blends. The color is far better. For me there is a satisfaction of putting in considerable effort and getting more out than I put in. Pictures will follow one day.

[John TenEyck]

Nice. Get a cheap spray gun and you will be absolutely in love with shellac.

John

[Bruce Mack]

Nice. Get a cheap spray gun and you will be absolutely in love with shellac.

John

Thank you, John. My projects are small and I am slow, so limited output. I'm thinking something with a small cup size and < $100. An article from Wood Magazine mentions the Paasche 62-2-3. I see that the HG-08 though quite different is in the same capacity and price range. Are you referring to something like these?

[roger wiegand]

I loved shellac already, but getting a (not cheap) Grammercy ox hair brush brought me to shellac nirvana. Spraying is OK, and maybe someday I'll be good enough at it to not have it be an exercise in terror, but that brush is the cat's meow. Beautiful smooth finish, the shellac just keeps flowing out of the brush forever as you pull long strokes across the wood. I thought I'd had decent brushes before but this was a real awakening.

Shellac is my go-to finish for anything where there is not a pretty good reason to use something else. I love finding shellac on any of the old pieces I work on, it means my life is going to be easier.

Nice. Get a cheap spray gun and you will be absolutely in love with shellac.

John

[John TenEyck]

Thank you, John. My projects are small and I am slow, so limited output. I'm thinking something with a small cup size and < $100. An article from Wood Magazine mentions the Paasche 62-2-3. I see that the HG-08 though quite different is in the same capacity and price range. Are you referring to something like these?

When I said cheap I meant cheap. The what used to be $10 Harbor Freight purple spray gun sprays shellac beautifully. Maybe it's $15 now, I don't know, but I'm sure it still sprays shellac great. It sprays dyes and any low viscosity finish equally as well.

John

[Bruce Mack]

When I said cheap I meant cheap. The what used to be $10 Harbor Freight purple spray gun sprays shellac beautifully. Maybe it's $15 now, I don't know, but I'm sure it still sprays shellac great. It sprays dyes and any low viscosity finish equally as well.

John

Thanks, John. We speak the same language. Purple it is.

[John TenEyck]

In my hands, a brush might as well be a broom when trying to cover a large area with shellac. No way I can lay down multiple coats as easily and uniformly as with a spray gun. I'm in awe that you have found shellac nirvana with a brush.

John

[roger wiegand]

Well, I'm in awe of anyone who can spray a finish without either sags and drips, orange peel, or rough, under-sprayed areas!

[Charlie Jones]

I agree with John. That purple HF gun is the stuff. I also spray water based varnish with it.