can shellac go over poly??

[keith ouellette]

Can shellac go over poly?

[David Christopher]

yes.........

[glenn bradley]

Just did it today actually. The spray can poly dulled in a couple spots. I just wiped on a bit of dewaxed shellac to put the gloss back; invisible fix.

[Scott Holmes]

Shellac will stick to teflon!

[Harold Burrell]

Just did it today actually. The spray can poly dulled in a couple spots. I just wiped on a bit of dewaxed shellac to put the gloss back; invisible fix.

Does it have to be dewaxed?

[keith ouellette]

thankyou for the responses. I kept reading that poly couldn't go over shellac and didn't know if the reverse was true. Now I have more options.

[Jim Becker]

thankyou for the responses. I kept reading that poly couldn't go over shellac and didn't know if the reverse was true. Now I have more options.

Polyurethane (and waterborne finishes) can go over shellac if it's dewaxed shellac. Both waxy and de-waxed shellac will go over polyurethane varnish with no problem, but if you intend to put on more poly for some reason, you should use de-waxed. I keep things simple and only buy dewaxed shellac so I don't have to keep dual sets of brushes, etc. (shellac brushes can be re-wet and will generally have shellac in the fibers. If you use a brush that had been used with waxy shellac with your de-waxed shellac, you get wax contamination)

[Penny Daman]

Polyurethane (and waterborne finishes) can go over shellac if it's dewaxed shellac. Both waxy and de-waxed shellac will go over polyurethane varnish with no problem, but if you intend to put on more poly for some reason, you should use de-waxed. I keep things simple and only buy dewaxed shellac so I don't have to keep dual sets of brushes, etc. (shellac brushes can be re-wet and will generally have shellac in the fibers. If you use a brush that had been used with waxy shellac with your de-waxed shellac, you get wax contamination)

We applied Watco wipe-on poly to a newly built cradle. Our grandson came early and the cradle has only cured for 4 days and still has a strong oder. It says it's not toxic but we're still concerned about off-gassing. The Watco people say we can shellac over it and that would get rid of the oder/off-gassing. Do you think this is correct? We're thinking we should wait for a full cure of the poly. We also have received mixed answers on how to tell when it's fully cured. Is it when the oder is gone? Lots of questions! Thanks to anyone with answers!

[Rich Engelhardt]

Yes - shellac will go over the Watco.

There is a problem though. Newborns are little "ammonia factories".
The first time you open up the diaper pail you'll know exactly what I mean.

Ammonia cuts and removes shellac & not in a nice way.
Usually it causes a very rough white layer.

Sadly, the off gassing, while not toxic in and of itself, can be nauseating.
It can also go on for a few weeks.

Sorry - I doubt that's what you really wanted to hear.

You might be able to apply a barrier coat of Zinsser Seal Coat - which is a dewaxed shellac and then go over that with a coat of water borne poly such as Minwax Polycrylic.