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Thread: How cold is too cold to apply shellac

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
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    New Hampshire
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    How cold is too cold to apply shellac

    I was all psyched that by basement was still in the upper sixties and I could do some finish work without worrying about the temperature. Well, that was until this past weekend when the power was out for 48 hours and furnace didn't run a lick for two days. Now the basement is just over 55 degrees darn it. I know that I'll have problems with the varnish later on, but for now I still have to apply the shellac. How cold is too cold to apply shellac and have it work correctly? I'd like to be especially cautious as it is being applied to red oak.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
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    outside Indianapolis
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    296
    It should be around 70ish best mid 60's okay not much below that as far as I know.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Coastal Virginia
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    647
    I've applied shellac in the high 30s with no ill effect, it just dries slower. If you're brushing, cooler actually makes it easier to work by slowing the evaporation rate and holding a wet edge longer.

    Mike

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    65,685
    Because the alcohol that dissolves shellac will flash off at a fairly low temperature (albeit slower), it's the one finish that is less sensitive to your shop temperature. I put the shellac coat on my recent tack trunk project with my shop at about 40º F while it was still heating up so I could spray the USL later in the day. It went on beautifully and I did brush it to simplify my cleanup that day.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Southport, NC
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    Shellac and lacquer are evaporative finishew and drying is not affected by temperature. If you can stand the cold, so can the shellac. It tends to be a slightly more runny when below 40 degrees.
    Howie.........

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
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    New Hampshire
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    Well I guess I'm glad it was cold in the basement tonight, about 58 degrees. I was applying the second coat of shellac and it was a lot more difficult to maintain the wet edge on the second coat than on the first.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Southport, NC
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    3,147
    >> I was applying the second coat of shellac and it was a lot more difficult to maintain the wet edge on the second coat than on the first.

    That's a problem with applying coats of shellac by brush--temperature is not the issue. Shellac is not really intended to be brushed on except for the first coat. Because it melts a prior shellac coat, it begins to get sticky and drags the brush.

    The best way to build a shellac finish is to brush on the initial application and then pad on subsequent applications.
    Howie.........

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