Home Shop Spray Shellac?

[Mike Berrevoets]

I have a home shop. I've sprayed lots of things with a HVLP sprayer and water based finish. I won't spray anything that isn't water based out of concern I might blow something up. And, the water based finish (GF products usually) give me good results so I don't have a desire to spray anything else.

But, I have some kitchen cabinets I will need to "paint". I like using BIN shellac based primer because it dries fast and sands easily. In my searching the threads for information on water-based pigmented top coats I see that a lot of people refer to spraying the BIN Shellac based primer. Is it safe to spray that product in a home shop? (wearing a respirator, etc) In the past I have always brushed it or rolled it on but if I can spray it safely then that could save me some finishing time.

[Stew Hagerty]

I don't know about BIN (In fact I have no idea what it is), but I spray shellac all the time. In the winter I just turn my furnace off while I am spraying, and keep it off for a while after I'm done. I have an Earlex HVLP sprayer, but for shellac I just use a cheap touch-up compressed air sprayer that I picked up on Amazon. I have found that it's much easier to control for some reason. At least it is for me.

[Art Mann]

Shellac flakes aren't toxic at all and the thinner is just grain (drinking) alcohol that has been contaminated so it is undrinkable. My concern would be getting floating shellac particles into my lungs. That can be prevented with a NIOSH P95 rated respirator.

[John TenEyck]

You shouldn't be spraying anything indoors w/o ventilation, even water borne stuff. They contain glycol ethers, and some other nasty stuff usually, like toluene, etc., that are not healthy to breath. You may wear a respirator while spraying, but the stuff is still in the air after you are done spraying and will migrate through your house. I use a simple temporary spray booth in my basement shop, with an exhaust fan (1200 cfm) ducted from the back of the booth out a window.

I've sprayed BIN shellac based primer on several painted projects as well as gallons of Sealcoat shellac. Same process - in the booth with exhaust. You can get seriously drunk breathing shellac aerosol.

Give it a little thought and I'll bet you can put together a simple but effective temporary spray booth. Mine is just plastic sheeting hung from nails in the floor joists. My exhaust is my dust collector fan (bags bypassed). Paper on the floor. Takes 10 minutes to set up or tear down.

John

[Mike Berrevoets]

Sorry. I should have said I'm not a pro with a proper spray booth.

My shop is a detached building. When I spray I typically shoot towards the overhead door which I crack about 2' up and put in one or two window fans to pull air outside. I also wear a respirator until I leave to fresh air. A lot of times with the WB I'll spray then leave for an hour or two while it cures then return and if there is no haze or bad smell I'll sand and do it over again.

So am I reasonably safe to use the same method with shellac?

[Conrad Fiore]

I certainly wouldn't say you are ok, but this is what I would do with your situation.
Wear a respirator, vent and exhaust with pull fans, extinguish all sources of open flame while spraying and until mist has cleared.

[Stew Hagerty]

Shellac flakes aren't toxic at all and the thinner is just grain (drinking) alcohol that has been contaminated so it is undrinkable. My concern would be getting floating shellac particles into my lungs. That can be prevented with a NIOSH P95 rated respirator.

I forgot to add that I too always wear a NIOSH 95 mask whenever I spray anything. In fact, i wear a respirator rather than a paper mask. My repirator has organic vapor cartridges with NIOSH 95 pads on top.

[Jim Becker]

The biggest issue with spraying shellac is dissipating the alcohol fumes. Since it's much less temperature sensitive, you can open things up. Shellac is the ONLY non-water borne product I ever spray in my shop. Needless to say, I wear an appropriate respirator and ventilate well for that activity.

[Mike Henderson]

I spray shellac but mostly outdoors. My shop is in my garage and I just spray in front of the garage.

Of course, I live in a place where I can work outdoors all year round.

Mike

[John TenEyck]

OK, much better. You should be fine spraying shellac with that arrangement, just be sure to extinguish any open flames before doing it.

John

[Howard Acheson]

If your fans are directing the air stream outside you have to consider a source of make up air. With an air circulation you do not have effective fresh air. Is there some way to open a door or window in the front of your shop?