Shellac vs. Poly?

[Jason Aukerman]

I am new to this craft and am finishing up building a jewlery box for my girlfriend in which I plan to use to propose. I noticed that a lot of people have projects in which they used shellac and wax. Is there an added benefit to this over a polyurathane coat? I used some old walnut planks that we found in our barn to build it. A previous project that used these in, I just noticed is having a slight issue with warping. Will one add more protection. Any insight from a more veteran craftsman would be helpful. Thanks!

[Rich Engelhardt]

I noticed that a lot of people have projects in which they used shellac and wax. Is there an added benefit to this over a polyurathane

Shellac and wax &/or a natural oil varnish & wax has a "pick me up and hold me" quality that poly doesn't.

Some woods, such as walnut, lose a lot also under the plastic-ey looking poly film.
Natural finishes, such as shellac &/or oils, tend to bring out the warmth of the wood.

[Jerome Hanby]

Shellac also has a great feel when you touch it. Kind of silly but one of the favorite things in my shop is the stick that I stir my can of shellac with (not de-waxed). It has this lovely build up that's just wonderful to touch...

[Prashun Patel]

Try it for yrself on a test piece to confirm. I think shellac+wax is beautifyl on walnut

[Dave Gaul]

I haven't bought any poly since I became a SMC member and learned better! I mostly use shellac, sometimes laquer, sometimes just wax.

+1 on Rich's thoughts.

[Scott Holmes]

A shellac finish is very easy to repair a varnish finish (poly is a type of varnish) is more durable but also much more difficult to repair. A jewlery box does not "need" a varnish finish. An oil/varnish blend (aka Danish Oil) or just shellac will be a beautiful finish for a jewlery box.

NOTE: The perfect shellac finish is the thinnest possible finish that is flawless. You should not build up a thick coat of shellac it will alligator and crack. Varnish and lacquer can be built up.

[glenn bradley]

Apples and Oranges. Poly is great for floors and high wear surfaces. I think if you do a couple small test pieces, you'll be able to decide what you like best.

[Sam Hamory]

It's hard to screw up shellac and wax. Often on something small, like a box, I will apply an oil finish by hand.

[Mike Null]

Unlike many others here I like a wiped on poly finish rubbed out with steel wool and waxed. That said, shellac and wax would be my preferred finish for jewelry boxes. Wear is not usually an issue but it's an easy finish and looks good.

I am not a fan of oil finishes at all.

[Paul Stoops]

Lots of good advice here. Take your time -- sounds like a pretty serious use for this jewelry box.................... :-) She'll love ya for it!

[Kent A Bathurst]

Me likely shellac. A lot.

On walnut, me likely garnet shellac - the orange-ish tint really adds a lot to the walnut.

[Chris Fournier]

Nice try, that gal wants a diamond!

Poly ain't right and shellac is so 100 years ago. Varnish is your friend for a hand applied finish.

[Harvey Pascoe]

Nice try, that gal wants a diamond!

Poly ain't right and shellac is so 100 years ago. Varnish is your friend for a hand applied finish.

Very interesting, Chris, as I use poly and varnish interchangeably. The truth is that shellac is for people who want to take the easy way out. Doing a good varnish finish takes more skill and is more time consuming and particularly so on an open grained wood like walnut.

I make boxes for a living and 90% of them have a varnish finish which is aged 30 days and machine polished because that's what my customers like. There is zero difference between poly and plain vanilla varnish in appearance, I don't care whether you're using Minwax or Epiphanes except for color. Polys tend to be thinner and take a bit longer to do a built up finish, but they cure much faster. Plain varnish cures slower but builds up faster so its kind of a wash between the two.

If you do not plan to do grain filling and your walnut is very open grained, I'd go with shellac rather than varnish which does not look good unless the grain is filled.

[Chris Fournier]

Very interesting, Chris, as I use poly and varnish interchangeably. The truth is that shellac is for people who want to take the easy way out. Doing a good varnish finish takes more skill and is more time consuming and particularly so on an open grained wood like walnut.

I make boxes for a living and 90% of them have a varnish finish which is aged 30 days and machine polished because that's what my customers like. There is zero difference between poly and plain vanilla varnish in appearance, I don't care whether you're using Minwax or Epiphanes except for color. Polys tend to be thinner and take a bit longer to do a built up finish, but they cure much faster. Plain varnish cures slower but builds up faster so its kind of a wash between the two.

If you do not plan to do grain filling and your walnut is very open grained, I'd go with shellac rather than varnish which does not look good unless the grain is filled.

I certainly have not used all of the varnishes nor polys on the market but in my experience poly looks like a plastic film, varnish has a more "traditional" fine furniture look and feel to it. For this reason I don't recommend poly but I haven't used it on my work in years, perhaps the formulators have refined the product since I poo pooed it and it is better looking these days?

[Scott Holmes]

Chris and Harvey,

I know that both of you know that poly IS VARNISH. Better not to muddy the water.

Harvey, how is shellac the easy way out and varnish the difficult process? I don't see much difference in ease of application; although the technique is different.

As a side note: Padding a shellac finish is pretty close to fool-proof as is using a wipe-on varnish.

All varnishes need approximately 30 days to cure. The dry-to-the-touch time can vary greatly.