How do You apply shellac?

[glenn bradley]

I've been using a rag or folded up paper towel with good success. I tried a couple brushes (syntho) that didn't seem to hold enough material to make it worthwhile. Am I missing something or am I doing OK? Foam brush? Better quality brush?

[Mike Henderson]

I prefer to apply it with a spray gun. If there's only a small amount to do , I'll use a regular brush.

Most of the time, I'm using dewaxed shellac as a sealer and not as a top coat. I very rarely use shellac as a finish coat because it's doesn't stand up to water or alcohol, and there are a lot better coatings available.

Mike

[Joel Ficke]

I use a 1.5" Takon brush to a point and then pad after that. The application method is probably going to to dependant on what your application is though. For example, if doing trim for a whole home, not sure I'ld chose a Taklon brush but it works great for 18th century reproductions.

[Bert Johansen]

Glenn, I keep several cans of the Zinnser aerosol shellac for a quick coat inside drawers, etc. I also use the premixed Zinnser clear shellac, which I cut about 15% with alcohol, and wipe it on with a cotton cloth. This dries so quickly you can't "work" it like varnish, but just make quick passes with the grain, overlapping about half of the previous pass. If you miss a spot, it is easy to touch it up after it dries--about five minutes. I use this as a sealer coat on almost all my projects, then finish with severall coats of Minwax Wipe-on Poly. Sometimes I top this with a final coat of Deft, sprayed on.

[Peter Lyon]

I spray it 95% of the time. The only exception would be somthing small and simple. I usually spray a couple of light coats, sanding 220 after the first coat and 320 after the second.

[Art Mulder]

I just use these "disposable" natural bristle brushes from LVT. I wouldn't use a foam pad. Not sure about synthetic brushes either.

[John Timberlake]

I purchase a very fine feeling brush at a local craft/art store (Pat Catan's) that are cheap enough that I use them for one project and then throw them away. During the project, I just put them in DNA to keep them clean and soft. They give a nice flat finish.

[Mike Henderson]

If you do apply shellac with a brush, and do it often enough, you can just let the shellac harden on the brush and then soak the brush in alcohol prior to your next use. The alcohol will dissolve the shellac on the brush and allow you to use it again. When I was using shellac a bit more, I would "clean" the brush with alcohol but would never get all the shellac off of it. Allow the brush to dry in the proper shape before putting it back in the protective cover. Store just like you would any other brush. Just write on the cover "Shellac Brush".

Mike

[Thomas Canfield]

I don't take shellac to a real finish product, but use a 2 or 3 cut for coating shop jigs and toys to get a good smooth surface that is dust free and improve sanding. I have not cleaned the 1 1/2" synthetic brush now for over 4 years. After using, the brush is squeezed dry with paper towels, and then the bristles are wrapped with a paper towel and some denatured alcohol poured on to keep the bristles moist when the brush is inserted in a plastic bag off the newspaper. The end of the bag is twisted and sometines clamped, but usually not. If it is several months between use, then the bristles may be dry, but they will bend and free up and then any dry shellac will melt when put back in the cut shellac.

It sure beats clean up and throwing away brushes. I also use a piece of 1/4" hardware cloth to put the items on that I am coating and you have a hard time finding the area where the parts rested on the cloth. I put 3 coats on a shop tool today and keep thinking that someday I will need to replace the brush.

[Ron Brese]

I typically spray with a 2 lb cut. On plane infills I french polish with 2 lb dewaxed dark garnet using lemon oil as the lubricant.

Ron

[jonathan snyder]

For brushing, I use golden takalon watercolor brushes. For padding, I use a bit of old wool sock wrapped in cotton muslin.

Jonathan

[Jim Becker]

Just write on the cover "Shellac Brush".

Best practice is to keep separate brushes for waxed and de-waxed shellac if you use top coats that have a problem with the wax...DAMHIKT!! And yes, MARK THEM!

[glenn bradley]

Thanks for all the replies guys and thank you freindly moderator for moving this to where I should have posted it (duh). I should have mentioned that I use Zinnsser's Seal Coat as a sealer and as a final finish for jigs as one poster mentioned. Overall it sounds like I should warm up the HVLP for larger areas / items. I'll take a look at the takalon brushes for the detail stuff.

Thanks again,

Glenn

[glenn bradley]

Hi Mike,

I'm using Seal Coat as a sealer also. When you spray, do you thin any or just go right out of the can? HVLP or other? I do use it as a final finish for sliding shop jigs as a few coats sanded to 400 and then waxed come out very slick (as in low friction) and is easy to recoat if required.

TIA,

Glenn

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello Glenn,
On the rare occasion I use shellac, I use one of those 3" trim rollers the borg sells for a couple bucks. I wrap it in aluminum foil between coats. If overnight, I wrap it in foil and stick it in a zip lcok plastic bag and awueeze all the air out.
The trick is to work fast, but not so fast that it bubbles.
If it does bubble, Ir break them with light stokes of a brush.