Shellac on doors

[Jerry Bruette]

I'm putting three 36" pocket doors in my cabin and considering finishing them with only shellac. Is this a good idea or should I put some poly on top of the shellac?

My thinking is that the shellac finish would be easier to touchup/repair if needed.

Also how many coats of shellac would I use and when would I sand the shellac?

TIA
Jerry

[John Coloccia]

I like shellac...a lot. I think it would look nice. The only place I hesitate is on a top where you expect abuse from glasses, alcohol, etc. If brushing, I usually use about a 1# cut and I'll put down about 2 or 3 very light coats, and do that for a couple of days. So maybe 3 coats the first day....3 the second. If you lay it really thin, you might need more. It's not as much or time consuming as it sounds because you lay it on very thin and it dries very quickly. You can practically do 3 coats without ever stopping.

Don't sand unless you mess up. You can let it sit a few days to fully out gas and then level and rub out to whatever sheen you want....or just leave it if you're happy.

Shellac likes very thin coats.

Anyhow, that's just my opinion and what works for me.

[David Hawxhurst]

my personal option is that shellac would be fine on doors. would only really worry about the wear factor from where the door is handled for opening and closing. the house i lived in that had pocket doors the door had metal pop out handle to get the door out of the pocket and a metal recessed area for sliding the door all the way closed or opening it.

shellac would be very easy to touch up or repair. i would do 3-4 spray coats. you don't really need to sand shellac for adhesion, would only do light sanding between coat only to remove dust nibs or raised grain after the first coat.

[Jerry Bruette]

I've got 2 coats sprayed on already and I was surprised how much it raised the grain, hence the question about sanding. I used the shellac, in a 1# cut, as a wash coat on the knotty pine tongue and groove paneling with 3 coats of poly on top. The paneling looks very nice.

[John Coloccia]

You can sand it back any time you like. If it raises the grain, definitely sand it back Usually at this point, I'll have already sealed it and sanded it in preparation for pore filling. Truth be told, I always put on a wash coat regardless, if for no other reason than to make sure there's no glue or other whoopsies that will give me headaches later on.

[Jerry Bruette]

John should I fill the pores or can I be done after say 4 sprayed coats of shellac?

[David Hawxhurst]

you can call it done after 4 coats if your happy with it. pore filling is a personal choice. on vertical surfaces its not that important unless your looking for the perfectly smooth surface. on horizontal surfaces i personal pore fill because it makes dusting and keeping it clean easier.