Applying A Quick And Easy Shellac Finish
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- Опубліковано 4 січ 2017
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I go over the steps that I take to apply a simple shellac finish in this video.
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Watch a tutorial on how to make shellac from flakes here - • Making Shellac From Fl...
As always, I welcome your questions and comments!
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Finally got a chance to watch this! What do you do if you are applying finish into the corner of a box or drawer if you can't prefinish? Is spraying the only option? That rubber obviously won't get into the corners well. Love to hear your tips!
+Fix This Build That Thanks Brad! I typically spray two coats inside the box, and sand it back. I may add a coat or two with the rubber and it can get pretty far into the corners, but typically spray two coats and that's it.
I got incredible result following these directions!!! Thank you sir!
Trying this now. Never had a better looking finish. THANKS!!
Love shellac...can't wait to use again.
this has been my favorite method ive found after watching and reading a ton of stuff. thanks for making this
That really demystified all the questions I have had about why my shellac projects haven't turned out that well. Thanks!
Hey Ross! Thanks! I'm glad you could take something away from the the video to help in your shop.
I would love to know how bad your projects turn out if this video helped!
I've only tried shellac once. And that was when I turned my first bowl. Thanks for sharing. I found your channel twice today randomly. The second through Mike Fulton. He mentioned the woodworking show and the maker meet up. Hope to get to go to that.
Thanks for watching Angie, and hope to see you on the 4th!
Thank you for this video - I learned a lot and was successful in shellacking some shelves using your technique. I’m a convert to shellac!
Lovely and very useful. Thanks!
I'm personally into this Shellac (?Goma Lacca?) these days, and this video was useful. The traditional way in Egypt is to use specially-prepared cotton to apply the coat.
Great demonstration and explanation. Very helpful. Thanks for posting.
Lots of great info here, thanks!
-Caleb Harris
Thanks Caleb!
Excellent tutorial Guy! I'm a huge shellac fan.
Hey Sean! Shellac is the shit! HaHa.
great finish Guy, I love using shellac
Tommy P! Yeah, it's my go to finish for a lot of projects
Good video! I'm a more of a hobbyist these days. For years I used poly. I would thin the first 2 or 3 coats and wipe it on, only brushing the final coat with slightly thinned poly. Sand with wet & dry 1200 and wax. Everything came out like glass! But, I share my workshop with the car and household storage boxes, so dust is always a problem. I now used shellac on everything that doesn't need a super hard finish - which is most of everything I do these days. With the super fast drying shellac, dust is no longer a problem and the time to complete my small projects is usually 1 or 2 days instead of 5 or so with poly. Thanks again.
Glad you found it useful!
Why is this so calming
Thank you for this video. Would the same process apply if you're stained the wood first?
Great video, Guy! So after seven coats, about 2 hours, it's ready for light handling? I wouldn't have to let it sit for another 24 hours?
This is a great help. Thanks Guy!
Wonderful video. You definitely break this down into a simple, easy to follow process. I'm gonna give this a try on hutch that we're refinishing.
Good tip...I 'm planning to use more of the shellac in the future.
Thanks Tom! Try it, you'll like it.
Great demo Guy! Lots of good information. Thanks.
Hey Brian! Thanks for watching buddy! When are we going to see something from you and Mark? Love your work and videos!
Interesting Video !
Am wondering, if i want a Satin finish on my bare wood acoustic guitar, can i use this process? Thanks ! :)
Very good explanation, Guy. I too have always had problems with shellac and mating surfaces.
Thanks Steve! Going with very thin coats like this, it considerably cuts down any runs or drip that may develop in an inside corner. They can still happen though! That's why I like to pre-finish when I know those corners are going to be an issue
Yeah I can see from your demo that I've been trying to put too heavy a coat on. Thanks for that insight.
Great info Guy! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks!
Thanks Guy, good video! ....what do you use to create a harder (more permanent/resistant) finish on your finished furniture? Thanks.
Thanks Tom! For something like a table top, I would use poly. Either a wiping poly or spray water based ploy after a coat of BLO and shellac to seal it.
Great follow up to the other video, thanks Guy
Thanks Chuck!
Great video! Simple, clear, and easy! One question, though: if you're going to go for a higher gloss finish with paste wax, would you apply that with the t-shirt? Or would you use the 0000 steel wool?
Thanks! I would just scruff sand with 400, then apply paste wax with a rag.
If I repaint a guitar would this product be suitable as a finish?
Hi, great video, I was just wondering if I would be able to use this on the inside of a chest of drawers? and than would it be okay to be cleaned with house cleaning products afterwards?
The sequence would be to clean first then apply the shellac as a sealer maybe with a brush unless a refined finish is wanted on your drawers. Cleaning afterward would not be best done with any products with an alcohol or ammonia fraction.
Very helpful, thank you
the first :40 i thought i was wayching MmcGUYver! small joke haha! good stuff guy..gonna have to get some shellac now..lol I had a small rubber joke but I'll keep it clean LOL have a good one brother
looks great. I'll have to try it out.
It's a great finish to use!
I'm learning to really appreciate shellac, so this is very timely. Thanks! But I have a safety question. I work in the 3 car garage that has a gas forced-air heating system. The heater is in Bay#1 and I work in #3. How concerned do I need to be about fume volatility?
I don't think so. My gas furnace is in the garage also, and I don't think the alcohol fumes in your case 20+ feet away are anything to worry about. You would probably have to splash the alcohol itself on the burner for it to ignite. However this is just my opinion on the subject. I have been doing this for years in this space and have never had issues.
I'm going to re-visit my shellac technique. Thanks, Guy.
Hey Dave! This is an easy process, and it works really well. I've tried brushing, and that's just too damn messy and drippy for me.
In the past I used a rag and wiped it on, much like wipe on poly. I probably applied it too thick when compared to your technique.
I have a bathroom door with the original shellac from the 50s. it's very rough and I'd like to redo it. Would you recommend removing the old shellac first or can I do a light sanding and apply new shellac over top of the existing?
I would do a light sanding to at least prep the surface before more shellac.
great video..
Awesome tips. Great tutorial I love the look. How well do you think it would hold up on a coffee table with definitely cold beverages going on top.
Thanks Thom! I think it would hold up well on a coffee table as long as there are coasters. Shellac doesn't like heat or especially alcohol. For a coffee table I would use a wipe on poly finish.
GuysWoodshop Thank You so much for all your help I really appreciate it take care
Ótimo vídeo, aprendizado de sempre, obrigado!!!
Excellent video and process. Is denatured alcohol the only alcohol to use with Shellac?
Thank you for sharing
You can also use grain alcohol.
Awesome
Do you ever seal the shellac with poly? If so water or oil based? Cheers, and thanks for sharing.
Sometimes yes to both water and oil based. Anything will stick to shellac!
Hi Guy: What's the difference between buying shellac in a can & making your own mixture? Also, how does French polishing with Shellac differ from the way you applied it in the video? I am using de-waxed Shellac in a can & doing FP on a guitar that I am making. I find that the Shellac does not cure quickly at all. Even three days after applying a thin coat of Shellac I see finger prints left behind when I try to handle the guitar. So, how long does it take to totally cure so that you can handle the wood without worrying about prints & smudges? Thanks, Steve
The biggest thing is I can control the shellac to alcohol mixture and color. What I am demonstrating here is not even close to french polishing. Do a YT search, and you will find a great deal of good videos on the subject. I don't know why your shellac is not drying after 3 days. Mine cures completely in a couple of days.
Shellac is biochemical and has a shelf life. The usual indication is a color and change in viscosity.
Hello Guy - I am preparing to install hardwood butcher block counters. I've already mineral oiled twice. I now want to put on a protective finish. I want to protect against water and wine type staining. What do you suggest?
Oil finish is fine. Boards are always going to take damage. Oil is as good as anything and can be reapplied at a later date.
I love danish oil as an oil finish.
Fantastic instruction.
Glad it was helpful!
Hey Guy, I have a quick question. Do you fill the pores on your woods like walnut before doing this?
I have in the past, but not normally.
I recently tried to finish a project with shellac and made a royal mess. The problem I was having was that it was leaving streaks that I could seem to get out with subsequent layers. I was using shellac out of a can, and applying it with one of those sponge type applicators. I was applying to a board apporx 10 x 30 inches, and by the time I got to one end the other end I had started at was already dry. Any help would be appreciated.
How detailed was your surface that it was being applied to?
Shellac is perfect for multiple coatings so you can layer it and apply wax finish to make it pop. First layers are always going to be the most coarse and not look as good. If you layer and sand like the video it will help to even the finish out.
Was always careful where I us d shellac since it's so temperamental (temperature, alcohol etc) on what you can put on the piece when it's done. But it's been a long long time since I've used (needed) a mixed shellac finish. Guess I'll have do it again to remind me how well it goes and the final finish. I'll also go watch your mix video to remind me how to cut it.
Agreed. I would never put it on anything that would see beverages put on it. However for other pieces, it's my got to finish. Thanks Mac!
Great info, Guy. This is probably my biggest weakness, in terms of finishing projects. I never know what to use when, how to apply most of them, how to rub them out to get a particular final sheen, etc. I tend to always fall back on polys, teak or tung oil (with or without stains). So, is shellac a oil type finish or a film type finish? (I like the magic trick @ 3:20 LOL)
Thanks Chris! It's really neither. I know that doesn't help. It's a solvent based finish. The shellac crystals are dissolve in alcohol. When applied, the alcohol dissipates, leaving only the shellac behind. When you apply the next coat, it dissolves into the first coat. These coats are so incredibly thin that it would take probably more than 15 coats to really start to build a finish that would look like a film finish.
Nice explanation, teacher! Perfect finish Guy.
+Humus Workshop Haha. Thanks!
Very beautiful work . What are the components of the liquid in the plastic box?
Shellac. There is a link to how I made it in the description of the video
After shellac , do we need to give it a final coat of wood sealer , or varnish or polyurethane ? or 7 coats of shellac will protect the wood it self.
Not needed it really is down to yourself and what you like.
I love the technique! I want to restore a rifle stock, what do you recommend for a final coat to give it more outdoor durability? Thank you
I would look at an oil based finish for a gun stock
@@GuysShop thank you very much!
2:27 gonna put my rubber in sealible jar... good tip!
HaHa. Thanks for the first rubber joke. I was wondering how long it would take.
Does it change the colour of the wood please. I have some black dyed chairs and hope shellac won’t leave a brownish hue. Please tell me.
If the shellac has color, it will change the color
Legend finishing
?
Hello. I was using the aerosol version. What happens if you didn't sand after the first coat?
Not much. It still sands very easy after the second coat
when are you getting a project build on Fine Woodworking?
HaHa. I think you should start a grass roots campaign to let them know they should :) Thanks for watching!
I'm refinishing an Ikea "Sniglar" crib. My girlfriend and I lightly sanded and stained it and put on a coat of satin oil-based polyurethane. After doing some reading, I am concerned about the poly and VOC fumes. Would 5 coats of shellac over this existing finish render it safe for a baby crib?
I can't say for certain that it will be baby safe.
Pardon my ignorance, please! Once when a young boy, I stayed at a friend's house and at bed time put a glass w/ice on a dresser. The next AM there was a ring on the dresser, under the glass from condensation. Was the dresser shellacked? If so, how could that have/be prevented? I am rebuilding a cheap guitar (my first) and considering ways to staining and/or painting it. Could I mix the paint/stain into the shellac or shellac over it?
It is an electric guitar.
Gary I would get some Trans Tint wood dye for color and mix it with the shellac.
I've never reused a rubber before. I'll have to try it out.
HaHa. I'm sure you will!
You just turn it inside out and shake the fu......... nevermind
HaHaHa.
Between the rubber and rubbing out, there are plenty of innuendos in this finish.
All of it was intentional. Just having a little fun!
If I was making wood signs for a wedding and apply to shellac finish to them... Would I be able to use a oil based paint pen to write on the wood signs after applying the shellac finish or would the paint not be able to absorb into the wood
Carryout a few test pieces to see what they turn out. Only you will be able to judge the standards.
Probably a bit late on this one.. We are thinking what may be an "oil based" paint pen is maybe one of the Sharpie Markers. The "regular" Sharpies have some alcohol in the ink. Best to test on scrap first. There is another method using Sharpies that are made without any alcohol in the ink that are used for writing on CDs and DVDs that are coated on the label side with shellac. This type also have a nib at either end of the pen and they come usually as a set in limited colors.
How to pore filling before shellac ?
Thanks Guy. I'll have to give this a try. My shellac has most often been of the gobber persuasion. JimE
HaHa. Thanks Jim! Just remember light coats, and it will turn out well.
A flat small board probably would not be an issue but what about inside corners, curves and the like?
Keep 'um comin'. JimE
Hey Jim. If you can prefinish before they become inside corners, that's the way to go. You can still use the rubber to get into the corners like any cloth applicator. You just can''t "swipe off the end" anymore, but you can still just wipe.
Thanks again. JimE
Thank for the video. How do you train rags to show up just when you need them? 3:19
The secret is to never rag on rags and they will always come back
@@magicgordo4878 You seem very knowledgeable on rags.
I have a mechanic friend who's a real gearhead.
He's also really into rags.
He has shop rags, terry cloth rags, oil rags, buffing rags....he collects them all.
Given your comprehension and vast expertise on the subject, could I safely and correctly/politically call him a raghead???
Thank you for your input.
Guy, I just finished a walnut top for our kitchen island. What would you recommed for a finish that is water resistant or repellent? The stove top is mounted in the island, no sink.
Water based poly is a good choice. I would start with boiled linseed oil. Wait a week, wash coat of shellac, then the poly.
GuysWoodshop
Guy, thanks your suggestion. I completed my table top today and I'll finish it as you recommended. I'm a newbie at woodworking and I reach out to seasoned woodworkers like you for input on projects I'm working on. Thanks again!
@@GuysShop ...and a fire extinguisher
I see the shellac made the color darker. What should I use on quartered fumed eucalyptus if I want.satin finish without darkening the effect
Use button lac
The final finish (satin or other) is subjective. Button shellac is dark by nature. Maybe consider white shellac. See pix of examples on Google Images.
Hi Guy. I know this is a old video. I'm a beginner and I messed up my first wood working project with shellac. I'm not giving up on shellac just yet. I want to keep going until I get it right. Is it safe to say that using a 1.5 lb. cut is the best way to go? In other words just stick to using a 1.5 lb cut? Thank you so much.
I have found that a 1.5 lb cut is very forgiving, and it's all I ever really use.
Can you reuse the "rubber" (rag) on another project much later on, even after the shellac has dried into it?
Absolutely! Just wet it again with some alcohol and then recharge with shellac.
@@GuysShop That's what I figured, so I did and it worked out great. Thanks.
Gonna try to cover a chair i built and finished with Linseed Oil. Now 2 months later it still stinks to high heaven like I am huffing from a can of the raw oil I cant take it anymore. Need to cover it with something or get rid of the chair and rebuild entirely
Goo tips Guys
Thanks Mike! Hows your hand by the way?
GuysWoodshop better, back it working on a disc sander build
I should mention that I do not spray any finishes, but rather French polish in a manner similar to yours here.
How big should the rubber be?
Aboout the size of a golf ball is what I usually go for
Nice tips.
thanks William!
Well you lost me at seven coats. Glad I found this video before I bought a can, thanks for the information.
I have put as few as 3 coats on. It all depends an what you're trying to get the finish to look like.
how to use on wood sheelac polish give the some information videos plzzzzzzzz
Too bad denatured alcohol isn't sold anymore in many parts of the country! There is no alternative, either, as far as I know. So for Shellac, it's straight out of the can or not all these days. (If there is a solution, I'd love to know about it!)
You can alsouse grain alcohol if liquor stores in our state allow it.
Easiest wood to put varnish on.
I wish you make a presentation on a real piece of furniture with edges and moulding profiles and underside, and spraying the last coat .
Thx for sharing .
Maybe one day!
@@GuysShop Rare and collectable are conventional type cup guns with heating capacity for spraying shellac. The rattlecan shellacs are fine if they are of recent purchase. Some of the older cans have small fractions of methylene chloride to prevent settling and caking in the bottom of the can. Any material ie. paint or coating that uses or has a fraction of hot solvent as a reducer dries faster as the percentage of solvent increases This is true with many of the oil paints (artists oils), real varnishes, petrochemical polyurethanes and even alkyd paints that can be reduced with many solvents to reach the desired effect. The range is from ether to kerosene.
Can't buy denatured alcohol in California anymore. Yay!
Who else rubbed one out after this video?😮😅
Dont ypu guys know that a millin of bugs are killed to make 1 kb of shellac
Good
DO NOT USE TSHIRT MATERIAL!!!! SUCH AN AMATEUR THING TO DO! YOU'LL LEAVE LINT ALL OVER YOUR SURFACE! Also, you do not apply coats every 10-15 minutes. There is still active solvent in the finish by that point. Each to his own though. Just my two cents from experience
What would you use?
Shellac sets really quickly and can be applied every 10 minutes if need be.
While you are not claiming this video is how to French Polish (which is good or I would have gone on a right rant) I still don't understand the value of it. What you have done here could be done far easier with two or three coats using a brush. You ended up wire wooling it anyway so what the difference. And as for your rubber, French Polishing or not a rubber should be filled with wadding not bits of old T shirt.
You dont use olive oil ???