What do you cover orange shellac with?

[Terry Urton]

Ok, I have some air dryed oak that I"m making a kitchen cabinet top with. I like the looks of shellac but it needs to be sealed for water and abuse protection. What so do you use and why?

Thanks
Terry

[Scott Holmes]

Red oak or white oak?

Cabinet top? Do you mean a kitchen counter? IS this going to be a working wood surface? e.g. cutting board on occasion?

[Terry Urton]

Well its red and white oak, yes a counter top. I'm leaving an edge on two sides so the grandkids can use it as a table. No one better cut into it with a knife. I was worried about sitting wet drink glasses on it or I would just go with the shelac.

[Scott Holmes]

De-waxed shellac is an excellent sealer. A quality NON poly varnish will protect it the best.

Waterlox Original would be my recommendation. A top quality phenolic/resin tung oil varnish. It is slow to dry; but worth the wait.

[Terry Urton]

Wow, only one person with some kind of opinion.
I was hoping for more as I like choices.
Never used waterlox so it will be something new.

[Brian Hinther]

Most of us generally defer to Scott or Howard Acheson. They're the ones with the most experience.

[Scott Holmes]

Here's a list of options:
Alkyd (alcohol & acid) resin varnish made with Soya oil. Hard varnish finish
Pratt & Lambert #38 (my favorite)
McCloskey Heirloomvarnish byValspar Now owned and distributed by Cabot new product code is: 144.0018000.005 (qt. Gloss)
Sherwin-Williamsmakes an Alkyd varnish made from linseed oil (Fast Dry Varnish). Better UV protection than Poly
Formby’s Tung Oil Finish – Alkyd resin /soya oil wiping varnish. I don't use their products. (Deception in Marketing)
Phenolic resin (Old yellowing radio cases). Hard varnish finish.
Behlen Rock HardLinseed oil
Waterlox Original Sealer & Finish Tung oil (wiping varnish)
Waterlox Original High Gloss Finish Tung oil

[Frederick Rowe]

An option to Waterlox Varnish is Target Coatings EM2000wvx Waterborne Alkyd Varnish. A hybrid alkyd resin dispersion in water, it has excellent water and UV resistance, can be sprayed or brushed, re-coat time is between 1.5 - 2 hours, and will cure into a hard and clear finish.

It will go on significantly faster than Waterlox, cleans up with water, is low VOC, and is has application characteristics similar to shellac in that you can easily gauge cure time when the sealer coat gently powders when sanded without clogging the sandpaper.

Sand lightly between coats w/400g. Give it 5 - 7 days to final cure.

Note: If your shellac is not de-waxed, apply to test board to ensure proper adhesion.

[Scott Holmes]

EM6000 is a water-borne acrylic. Waterlox is a phenolic resin/tung oil varnish.

Acrylic and Alkyd are more similar then Phenolic and acrylic.

They are not even in the same catagory of finishes.

[Frederick Rowe]

EM6000 is a water-borne acrylic. Waterlox is a phenolic resin/tung oil varnish.

Acrylic and Alkyd are more similar then Phenolic and acrylic.

They are not even in the same catagory of finishes.

Correct. EM2000 is water based, Waterlox solvent based. Use of the words lacquer and varnish by water based products refer to their finish properties and characteristics rather than their composition. Yes, EM6000 Acrylic and EM2000 Alkyd - although I didn't suggest EM6000 for this application. Maybe I missed your point.

I'm suggesting EM2000 as an alternative to Waterlox to the OP, who wanted more choices and sounded like he was comfortable with shellac - which is very similar to EM2000 in application methods. I've had excellent results with it in similar applications. It is forgiving and can applied in a variety of ways.