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I seem to remember reading an article at one time about what sort of shellac (clear, amber, garnet, etc.) paired the best with different wood tones such as maple, cherry, and walnut. However, I'm having no success enticing Google to find it for me.
Does anybody here have information on this sort of thing? Is there a traditional approach to this?
Hmmm, I have read many articles about shellac. My understanding was always that it depends on the look you want to impart. Blonde shellac is obviously going to have negligible impact on coloring (super blonde even less), Amber tends to add a warmer tone, most noticeable with woods like white oak & maple, but also with darker woods. Garnet brings out the brilliance in woods with red tones like cherry & mahogany, while it can be used in place of a dye or stain on lighter woods such as oak & maple without the fear of blotching. I have used multiple coats of garnet to match a color to existing furniture, for instance I am currently using it to make an ash stand blend in with a faux cherry bedroom suite. I first attempted to use dyes, then stain, but nothing really matched all that well until I sprayed on 4 coats of garnet shellac. Bingo, almost perfect.
I will be interested though if someone does know the article you speak of. I use shellac a lot and am always anxious to learn more.
Totally personal preference. many folks just use super-blonde or platina, and add trans-tint dye. I guess that makes sense, but where's the fun in that? Plus, I like to think that it can't possibly look exactly the same, but that could be wishful, traditionalist thinking.
I'm a huge fan of garnett shellac on Walnut, and believe it or not, over black japaning or laquer. (A deep, stunning look.) It would thus probably look great over black-dyed wood, and of course ebony, but I've never tried it. Also garnett can look great on maple, if you know what you're after. I've even used it with good results on lighter rosewood. Heck, garnett even look great on red oak.
Let's face it, I like garnett shellac! - But you have to be careful, as too many coats can get "too dark" very quickly. I like to apply it super-thin for this reason.
I like lemon yellow (when I can find it,) and to a lesser extent orange, over mahogany, light rosewood & cherry. Heck, yellow looks good on everything. It seems to increase the contrast in the grain.
On dark rosewood, use only blonde & platina, or you lose the grain.
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The only decent comparisons I've seen are in finishing videos, such as by Jeff Jewitt & the like.
I probably should have mentioned that I'm working on a table in cherry right now. I used Amber on a maple table a few years back, and it was a little too orange for my taste. I was thinking about garnet, but I'm not sure if it would be too dark. I do want to darken the piece some, though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Allan Speers
I have never tried Garnet over Walnut, but I'm going to now. I have to mix up a fresh batch of Garnet first, but when it's ready I'm going to try it on some scraps. Do you oil first, or just go straight to shellac? I've got something that will likely be coming up where I'm going to be using some beautiful curly walnut, some with a fair amount of rich purple. Typically I would start with an oil to help bring out the curl. Will the garnet drown out the purple streaking?Quote:
Originally Posted by Allan Speers
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stew Hagerty
Stew, I'm far from an expert, I just happen to love shellac. Eons ago, a luthier friend of mine taught me how to french polish, and I've been hooked ever since.
I've never tried oil under shellac on walnut, so I can't say. (Try it, and give us your thoughts. Shellac, as you probably know, brings out the grain much like oil, so... I think the big difference might end up being how the pores look when done. Tinted shellacs fill the pores somewhat, which makes them more noticeable (something I prefer) whereas oil sinks in. Hmmm... I dunno.
As far as the oil itself: I remember once trying just oil on walnut, and I preferred tung oil (the real stuff) over linseed.
Now you have me wanting to experiment. :)
Garnet looks fantastic on cherry. New cherry is relatively light compared to the way it will look after a bit of sun. Garnet seems to bring it out more without an artificial look and, as the cherry darkens, I think it gives it an even richer hue.Quote:
Originally Posted by Roy Lindberry
I like to wetsand walnut with oil usually BLO, although sometimes pure tung oil if I am going leave it as just an oil finish. Either way, on Walnut I like to wetsand so the sawdust mixes with the oil and helps to fill the pores. If I'm going to topcoat it, I usually don't bother with wetsanding.
I am working on a book shelf/ music stand to match a pipe organ made in the 1869. The organ is made of french polished walnut and has a reddish tone. It is quite large and very impressive. I am using Ruby (i assume a variant of garnet) shellac over mineral oil and the match is pretty close. I start by sanding to 400 and add a heavy coat of ordinary mineral oil (Walgreen's laxative brand) wiped once and then rubbed in with pumice and shellac using my french polish rubber. It doesn't take much work to get a good smooth finish. The oil, shellac, and pumice fill the pores quickly. I allow the parts to sit at least overnight before spiriting the finish with additional coats of shellac. I'll try to post some pictures when it is done. At any rate the oil/ garnet shellac combo really brings out the character of the walnut.
Thanks for the help. I went with garnet. Here is the final result:Quote:
Originally Posted by Stew Hagerty
Attachment 341690Attachment 341689Attachment 341688Attachment 341687
Wow, it turned out great Roy! I find it very hard to beat Shellac as a finish. You can make it just about any gloss level, tint it, use it to seal, and even use it for light grain filling.Quote:
Originally Posted by Roy Lindberry