gluing to shellac

[Mike Foster]

Hi all,

I've been lurking here for a while but just ran into a problem and was wondering if anyone here knows if yellow glue will stick to wood with shellac on it. I just made a tall skinny carcase to fit in a bathroom remodel I'm in the process of. The carcase is 24" deep, 9" wide and 80" tall. Needless to say, once glued up, it will be nearly impossible to finish the inside (which is all that will show). I originally intended to paint it, but decided that is out of the question. I then thought, why not just use shellac? Only towels and linens will be stored on the shelfs. If I finish before assembly, will yellow glue stick to shellac? I'm using biscuits to join the whole thing, and the box is basically two tall sides with 5 horizontal partitions. So what do you think? Do I need to try and keep shellac out of the joints?

[Dave Brandt]

I doubt glue will stick. How about masking the joints off before applying the shellac?

[Jim Becker]

PVA glues are designed to penetrate the wood fibers so they will not work effectively if you have a film finish on the wood. But that shouldn't preclude you from pre-finishing the interior parts before assembly...as Dave suggested, just mask off the joints. I did this for all of the cabinets for my kitchen renovation last year and it was very effective. Blue painters tape and a razor knife is all you need.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Mike, welcome to da Creek! Listen to these guys, they know what they're talking about....or , at least they're giving you the same advise I was going to!!

Maurice