Zinsser shellac as a sealer

[Kent A Bathurst]

........would you turn me out if I did not have said beer in a cooler, chilled @ steady state......?

What - you're joking, right? You think I am kidding around here? The answer:

In a New York Minute

[David Ragan]

I had a chest of drawers which had spar varnish on it. I used standard waxed shellac, then NC lacquer, and all my finish started to flake off. It was an awful loss of time and profit. I will *never* use anything other than Sealcoat Dewaxed shellac, ever, ever again. Not even if I have a deadline and what I have might work... never again. never.

To John, Kent, Mike, et al:

Can you trust the canned stuff to not be out of date.

And, it you make your own, how can you be certain that all the wax is out?

Is using as a sealer the only reason to de-wax it?

The only diffo between all the formulations (button, blonde, yellow, etc) of flakes is the color?

[Mike Dowell]

I'm not sure about the dates. I've just not had a problem in the past - plus I've never made my own Shellac. It does have a LOT number on the lid, and I suppose you could call the company and have them decode that into a date. I'd suggest buying it from a place you suspect might sell a lot of it, like Rockler or Woodcraft. Jeff Jewitt of Homestead Finishing(amazing guy) sells Shellac flakes and he's incredibly knowledgable. Give him a call and ask his advice. I know he sells dewaxed flakes. http://homesteadfinishingproducts.co...ishes/shellac/

[Bill White]

Just a side note to this topic.
The Seal Coat label has been changed. It now reads as BIN, can is white. Ya gotta read the label.
I spent a bunch of time lookin' for the old yellow can the other day. DUH!
Makes me crazy when labels change for no real reason.
Bill

[John TenEyck]

I've never had a bad can of SealCoat. There is a date code, but as long as you buy it from someplace like HD, etc. where the turn over is pretty high, it will be fine. It has a shelf live of at least 2 years. The bigger issue for me is that the can will leak sometimes, and then you have shellac all over and a heck of a mess.

I know others mix there own shellac, but I've never found that necessary. I use SealCoat and if I want a different color I add Transtint dye to it. That gives me an infinite color palette with one product.

John

[Howard Acheson]

>>>> do I use the Zinsser right from the can, or cut with water?

Water is not a thinner for shellac. DNA (denatured alcohol) is what you want to use.

[Prashun Patel]

Zinder BIN sealer is a white paint primer that contains shellac but is opaque. Sealcoat still exists as a separate product that is just clear thin blonde dewaxed shellac. Some borgs have stopped selling the quarts. You still can get it in gallons and in quarts at some paint stores.

[Kent A Bathurst]

David has completed his check ride: From dewaxed flakes in a bag in the freezer thru 2 coats 3/4# seal coat on a 1 x 12 - 36" test board; padding cloth prep, electronic gram scale, and coffee grinder endorsements on the certificate.

Great guy - he's heading home to the launch pad.

All I had to do was sit here, send him around the shop grabbing stuff, mixing and measuring, etc., carrying on a discussion about whats and whys, and how-abouts, and grinning at the cooler-full of ice-cold IPA he brought.

He left with a 1/2 pt of 3/4# dewaxed ultra pale shellac, materials for some padding cloths, a couple spare 8 oz squeeze bottles, and the seal-coated board. And an empty cooler.

Wonder how I can turn this into a regular gig? A couple times per week, and my beer budget is faded.

[David Ragan]

Thanks so much Kent!

Great teacher😀

you make it so simple-which is what I need

Tomorrow I'll make some really really concentrated TransFast and do some tests

[Mike Malott]

The bigger issue for me is that the can will leak sometimes, and then you have shellac all over and a heck of a mess.

Same experience here, John!

Now, I always store my quart can of SealCoat in a plastic bag.

Mike

[David Ragan]

I had a chest of drawers which had spar varnish on it. I used standard waxed shellac, then NC lacquer, and all my finish started to flake off. It was an awful loss of time and profit. I will *never* use anything other than Sealcoat Dewaxed shellac, ever, ever again. Not even if I have a deadline and what I have might work... never again. never.

What is NC Lacquer?

[Kent A Bathurst]

David - copy your entire sentence, and search for it online.

Happy to help, but you need to do a bit of lifting on your end too, brudda.

[Bill White]

Nitrocellulose lacquer=NC lacquer.
Bill

[Jerry Olexa]

DeWaxed is very important to protect further topcoats...

[Howard Acheson]

>>>> So, Flexner says that not good to use Polyurethane on Shellac.

Flexner is referring to standard, wax containing shellac. You don't want to put poly or waterborne over shellac unless the shellac has been dewaxed. Poly has relatively low adhesion strength and there is a likelihood of adhesion problems if the undercoat is non-dewaxed shellac.

Standard Zinnser Bullseye shellac contains wax. You want to use Zinnser Seal Coat which is 100% dewaxed