Originally Posted by
Prashun Patel
Greg-
I think it would be a good experiment for you to *NOT* put a pad on the top and see just how durable a shellac finish can be. It's easily repaired (even by the ham handed like myself). I'm sure Sheldon has more experience than I but I find shellac to be plenty durable for just about anything other than a table or surface that'll get a LOT of moisture.
I concur that shellac can go bad, but it doesn't happen immediately, and like any glue or finish, as long as yr using product manufactured relatively recently (< 3-6 months) it's just not been a practical issue for me.
As to your question of how many coats, the goal (to paraphrase Scott T) is to get a thin, even film. The easiest way to achieve it is to pad on the Sealcoat. When sealing, I use Sealcoat out of the can. But after about 2 coats, it starts to leave streaks; I find it too thick for final padding. So, with each coat, I add a little more ethanol to the sealcoat. The 3rd-4th (and maybe 5th) coats become more about moving the existing shellac around to be even rather than putting on a whole bunch more...