Finishes

[Denny Davis]

I have seen posts where turners using Shellac on their turned bowls. Could someone with experience in this please help me?
I have shellac in liquid form. Whats the proper way to use this? or is it not a good idea to use this?. Can a wax be put on
top of it? Thanks
Denny Davis

[Brian Kent]

I use 2 coats of de-waxed shellac (Zinnser Sealcoat) on most pieces. On some porous woods (like dry avocado) I put on several coats. I sand to 320 or 400 between coats. Usually I switch to wipe-on poly, but not always. I usually finish with Black Bison wax.

[Paul Williams]

I use the same de-waxed shellac that Brian mentioned. Do not use shellac that contains wax unless it is the final coat. i.e. if you are going to apply shellac and then wax it won't matter. Yes you can wax over shellac. Actually it is a great material to separate any two separate types of finish. My go to finish is Boiled Linseed oil applied on the lathe and followed by shellac. Often both are applied with very fine sandpaper. Then I hold a cloth against the turning while speeding up the lathe, letting the heat generated help set the finish. The next day I put on another coat of shellac followed by a light sanding and then wipe-on poly. You are likely to hear from many turners with varied process, but I'll bet that most of us use shellac in some manner.

[Curtis Myers]

I have seen posts where turners using Shellac on their turned bowls. Could someone with experience in this please help me?
I have shellac in liquid form. Whats the proper way to use this? or is it not a good idea to use this?. Can a wax be put on
top of it? Thanks
Denny Davis

A de-waxed shellac is my goto sealer. It comes from a bug secretion found in India. This bug secretion is dissolved in alcohol making it easy to work with and fast drying. I put my shellac into a HOT souce bottle and add a little extra 90% denatured alcohol to thin it out a little.

I typically apply finish off the lathe. I use a good quality cotton tee shirt material to apply the shellac.

If the shellac becomes thick and uneven simply soak a cloth in alcohol and wipe the piece till the shellac is smooth. Can't do that with spray sealers.

I like using oil as a finish. An issue with oil on some woods is it soaks into the wood unevenly, giving a blotchy look. Cherry does this a lot. You can apply a light seal coat of shellac prior to the oil to prevent the blotchyness. I sand after shellac ensuring it is even and smooth. Sometimes I like to machine buff the piece after shellac to get a French Polish effect. Then apply the oil.

Shellac can be applied on top of almost any finish and almost any finish can be applied on top of de-waxed shellac. So if you have an oil finish on a piece and want to add a water based finish. Apply a coat of de-waxed shellac in between. Not sure this would come up very often in the shop.

hope these ramblings help
curt

[Jon Nuckles]

Sometimes I like to machine buff the piece after shellac to get a French Polish effect

Be careful if you buff a shellac finish. It can melt if it gets too warm.

[Curtis Myers]

Be careful if you buff a shellac finish. It can melt if it gets too warm.

Concur. Keep your shellac thin by adding 90% alcohol. I fill my HOT souce bottle 3/4 with shellac then 1/4 alcohol. The HOT souce bottle narrow top helps control the evaporation of the alcohol. I like to put the shellac on thin then sand smooth removing any thick areas prior to buffing.
Buffing is more art then science. You want the correct buffing compound with the correct pressure and speed. As Jon stated, heat is not your friend.