Finishing the Finish with wet sanding shellac. Whats your technique

[Joel Wesseling]

I'm getting the hang of shellac and producing a nice finish but want more..

Sanded the shellac top coat with 220 no load then 600 micro mesh and getting what looks like a nice flat surface..
Shellac used for grain fill as well..nothing else used..

From there I used 2400 wet sanding discs with water and getting nice results but it looks like it could be a little more clear.. not sure if thats best way to describe it but it looks sort of sanded, like clouded by sanding lines...

I like gloss and statin but its the total clarity thats missing..

Maybe you can help?

Thanks, Joel

[sheldon pettit]

Sorry Joel, but if you want the rubbed look with shellac you have little other choice than to hand rub with 4F pumice followed by rottenstone, both applied with a felt block [individually] and rubbed with the grain in straight lines till you achieve the sheen you desire or can get. this method is "old" but it works best but much more labor intensive than machine sanding for sure. This will still give you fine sanding lines, but they are parallel with the direction of the grain and therefore don't show up looking like what your getting at present, along time ago, this was "the" way all finishers or factories obtained the satin look or eggshell/flat as was desired or required then. the rubbing is done with light mineral oil and lightly sprinkling the pumice on the surface. Rubbing edge to edge with the grain in the straightest lines possible!! In line sanding is done before hand usually with 400 W/D since that is closest to the pumice abrasive size.

[Joel Wesseling]

Sorry Joel, but if you want the rubbed look with shellac you have little other choice than to hand rub with 4F pumice followed by rottenstone, both applied with a felt block [individually] and rubbed with the grain in straight lines till you achieve the sheen you desire or can get. this method is "old" but it works best but much more labor intensive than machine sanding for sure. This will still give you fine sanding lines, but they are parallel with the direction of the grain and therefore don't show up looking like what your getting at present, along time ago, this was "the" way all finishers or factories obtained the satin look or eggshell/flat as was desired or required then. the rubbing is done with light mineral oil and lightly sprinkling the pumice on the surface. Rubbing edge to edge with the grain in the straightest lines possible!! In line sanding is done before hand usually with 400 W/D since that is closest to the pumice abrasive size.

Thanks! It does make sense if the lines are in same direction as grain it would be less conspicuous..

Finishing is crazy

Joel