Shellac padding a bench

[Sam Puhalovich]

I thought that I'd be able to 'pad' apply shellac to the bench after reading a bunch of stuff and watching some videos. However; after 3 attempts with small rectangular pads ... practicing on the underside ... I wasn't able to get into the corners or end-up with a smooth 'deposit' at the corners. Opted to spray ... overspray made for some thicker and darker areas.
Is there a way to pad-out the darker areas?
And in general: is there a way to pad these kind of projects?
If 'brushing' is the way-to-go ... what commonly-available DSC_2211.JPGbrush to use?

[Stan Calow]

No replies yet. I'll just throw out - pre-finishing.

[Sam Puhalovich]

Yes, Stan: pre-finishing will definitely be the way-to-go for the NEXT project. For this build ... 5 benches ... I had to resort to spraying ... then padding the areas where I couldn't hit with the gun. I ended-up having to spray 6 coats of shellac with TransTint dye to get a fairly even finish.
DSC_2212.jpg

Then I padded the areas that I couldn't hit with the gun. I found a small angle-handled trim-pad holder in my supply of wall-painting stuff that gave me a chance to reach into corners and in-between areas. I wrapped-and-tied 4 layers of t-shirt material to the 'applicator' and with umpteen layers of the mix I was able to get into corners without depositing an overly-amount.
DSC_2215.jpg

[John TenEyck]

That's a project I would have much preferred to dye first and then spray or wipe on a clear coat. It's just a lot easier to get a uniform color using a flooded coat of dye applied with a sponge. The clearcoat will look good whether or not you get it on perfectly uniform. It's more forgiving than using toners. If you do use a toner, it's almost always better to spray or wipe on several thin coats, building the color up to the final target. Your project is especially challenging because of all those "hidden" surfaces. That problem is the primary reason I'd want to use a flooded-on dye.

John

[Kent A Bathurst]

DSC_2211.JPG

If 'brushing' is the way-to-go ... what commonly-available brush to use?

I'm with these fellers - pre-finish components before assembly. But this horse is out of that barn, so..

I don't think you can "pad" into those corners. But you can brush - with a taklon artist's brush. There are a jillion shapes and sizes, and they are all relatively inexpensive. I use them for shellac details often, and the cool thing is you don't need to clean them, just let the shellac cure/dry hard, then stick the brush into the shellac next time to dissolve the old.

Lotta art-house supply places to get them. Here's one I've used:

https://www.dickblick.com/search/?q=taklon

[Prashun Patel]

I question your choice of shellac as a topcoat for a bench. Why not a wiping varnish like poly, arm r seal, or waterlox. Way easier to pad on and way more durable.

Also, I am confused about why you cannot spray all areas with the gun? I'm not seeing any areas that look hard to spray.

Also, BTW, even if you did nothing, it looks decent to me as it is...