First use of shellac, Zinsser bull's eye can, am I doing this right?

[Fitzhugh Freeman]

I've decided to try shellac on a very small project. Can you check my work?

I couldn't get flake in time, only found bull's eye waxed stuff in a can.
I've padded it on with clean t-shirt pad, it leaves some heavy "brush" marks when used straight from the can, much less when I cut it from 3# to 2# cut per Zinsser instructions.
The plan is to apply a few coats, lightly sanding between, then lightly rub with 0000 steel wool to remove any final marks and knock down the gloss.
The wood has a lot of figure around a knot, can't really sand with the grain on this particular board so I sanded to 600 before finish.
So far I've only put one coat on, figured I'd ask if I'm missing anything. This is what I extrapolated from various posts.
Thanks!

[Steve Schoene]

Thinning to 2lb. or even 1/1/2lb. cut will pad on much easier than the 3lb. cut Amber comes (that's also the same as Clear, but I don't recommend clear for much since it is less durable than the Amber or the Seal Coat) Seal Coat comes at 2 lb. cut and is dewaxed, which is an strong advantage if you which to overcoat the shellac with a different topcoat. . Sanding between coats is only needed if you have major boo boos to correct.

[glenn bradley]

Until you and shellac become friends the biggest mistake I see people make is to go over a place where they have already laid down some finish. There is edge overlap, of course. I generally lay it down like I am mowing the lawn . . .. with a little edge overlap to assure I don't miss anything. Once you have done an entire area . . . walk away, do not try to "just touch that up" or "fix this little thing here", that road leads to madness.

Around here I wait about 30 minutes. I can then sand out any ridges or boo-boos before applying the next thin-thin-thin coat. Once you make friends you will find you can bend the rules; go over areas already laid down, rub ridges out while applying the next coat as opposed to sanding and apply more finish per coat if that is appropriate.

Be brave. Even complete train wrecks can be easily recovered by soaking a rag in DNA and scrubbing the finish off. Once most of it is gone, apply DNA to paper towels, changing frequently, and keep scrubbing until they come away pretty clean. The good news is that there is shellac soaked into the surfac and your next try will be easier.

[Phil Mueller]

Like suggested above, I usually thin to 1 1/2 lb...in other words about 50/50 DNA/Shellac. I tend to fold up old t-shirt material and wipe on with the grain. As said above, let it be for 30 minutes. And repeat. I go 6 or so coats then lightly sand with 800-1000 grit just to knock down any nibs.

As Glenn said, with some practice you will get to know how "wet" to get the pad so it goes on smoothly and even be able to fix a sag while wiping on. The thinner the mix, the easier to avoid mistakes...but the more coats you will need. On larger projects when I really want to avoid issues, I thin to 1lb (about 1/3 to 2/3) and give it 8 or so coats. Keep in mind, when it's this thin, on larger projects, you can just about do another coat once you finish applying the previous one.

[Mike Nolan]

I use an approximately 1.5 lb cut. I wait 30 minutes between coats and only sand the next to last coat. My only problem area is runs over an edge if I am not being careful. Uneven areas or even missed spots are not important. I am going to do 4+ coats.