Dewaxd Blonde Shellac-to pop the figure"

[Phil Winn]

Good evening! To "pop the figure" on Curly Maple, and Curly Mahogany, in the past I used Boiled Linseed Oil cut 50% with Mineral Spirits applied as a first coat. What about using Dewaxed Blonde Shellac as a first coat to "pop the figure"? Does it work as well as BLO with MS? Comparing the two? Does something else work better?
I have not used that much Deft Solvent based Lacquer in the past, can it be used as a "clear" coat (second and subsequent coats) over Dewaxed Blonde Shellac? What Deft Solvent Lacquer over BLO with MS? Once again, I appreciate all of your help and info.
Phil

[Scott Holmes]

Dewaxed shellac will pop the grain but not as much as the BLO.

Mixing the BLO with MS will not help it sink in better or do much other than waste MS. It does not reduce the size of the BLO molecule and thus does not allow deeper penitration, the MS may go deeper but it doesn't do anything by going deeper but slow evaporation...

Mixing MS and BLO does apply less BLO to the wood which will limit the grain pop and it will also reduce the effectiveness of subsequent coats of BLO because the wood will be somewhat sealed; but on an hit and miss basis. This could actually cause blotchiness.

Dewaxed shellac is a very good barrier coat between BLO and most any other finish.

[John Coloccia]

One thing you may want to try on scrap, and that I've had good success with, is apply a light stain and then sand it back until it's all but gone. It will soak into the figure more and really enhance it. Then coat it however you want. Sometimes I mix a little tint in with some shellac and use that.

Sometimes I just use amber or orange shellac. I don't think I've ever had any luck with blonde shellac, though. Of all the options, that's the one that seems to give the least effect.