Can the Can(ned) Shellac
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- Canned shellac is convenient, but if you want more control over your finish you'll need to mix your own. In this video, executive art director Mike Pekovich shows you how easy it is to make a batch of shellac from flakes.
I watch a lot of woodworking videos, have made some furniture for my home and seen many people discuss finishes with shellac. However, this video of yours really impressed me with your explanation and demonstration to the point of feeling the surface. Thank you for an excellent video.
Outstanding video. Have watched many others, and in a short time you shared practical info with no fluff. Love the info about using heavy flake mixture and diluting it for immediate use and tips on how to tell if it is too thin or thick by the characteristics of a test coat, not having to resort to measuring equipment. Thanks!
More videos like this FWW!!!!
Awesome video. Very well explained and the way you mix the two different batches of shelac is very practical and easy. And then the way you explain how to determine if you have the right consistancy in your final mix is very helpful. Just like cooking its better to get a feeling for the right amt of ingredients.
Wow, that is a fast finish. Thanks for sharing. Scott
I like this approach. How much more would you cut your premix if you were doing french polishing? You put 6 squirts in (actually only 5 if you watch the vid)..would you put 1 or 2 more squirts in? I would think you would want to be around 1 pound or a bit less but not a spit right? I'm looking to spend some time seeing if I have the patience for french polishing.
When applying the paste wax, is worrying about the shellac pulling away, as mentioned earlier in the video, something to be concerned about? Or, is this something that happens while the alcohol is drying and not something to worry about once evaporated?
This video has some bad advice. No weighing or measuring? How are you going to reproduce a look if you don't know what the cut is? Also, never had "dripping and running" wuth a high cut, and you won't either if you apply multiple thin coats. Finally, mixed shellac flakes do not keep indefinitely, they keep 3 to 6 months in liquid firm before you start running into issues with tackiness.
I would liked to have seen a closeup of the finished result. Nice tips though.I will try it.
thanks so much for this information 👍 so glad I took the time to watch this video. Great presentation and extremely helpful
What kind of paste wax do you use? Thanks!
Thanks so much for teaching this, Mike, I now use it on all my projects and the results are fantastic. Would never have figured this out on my own, but really easy to apply. Bug goo, who would have thought?!
I love your videos. No fluff, just the facts man. I have had a love hate relationship with shellac for many years because I misunderstood how desirable a thin cut is . For years I would use heavy cuts, (creates a mess with runs and weird lines) and 2 coats , let it dry overnight then sand back till smooth, then go up through the grits and steel wool etc. Wow, lots of work. But the reason for this was I didn't think using a thin cut would allow enough buildup for adequate protection without taking a lot of time. Thin is in for me now. Life is better. Thank you.
If I let the shellac get old and evaporated to the extent that it is hard in the bottom of the jar, can it be revived, so I can use it again?
If you’re going to measure out squirts why not just measure out the flakes
I followed this method but I had the problem of most of the flakes turning into a sludge at the bottom. What have I done wrong? I used methalated spirits (UK)
Gotta keep shaking it up, every hour or so, until it's all dissolved.
I was always worried about using shellac, because I had no instruction, but I wanted to try because my grandfather was a big fan of it. Thanks for the tips!
I really like to use a coat or two of this on the end grain of wood before applying stain. For instance on big box store pine, the end grain of the wood absorbs so much stain that it turns way darker than the face grain does. The shellac gets in there and seals up the grain so that it absorbs a lot less stain, just like the face grain does. The end result is a more evenly stained piece of wood. Try it out on some scrap! Also a big fan of pre-stain conditioner, (Thanks 731 Woodworks), I won't stain without it!
Hey Mike, you're my woodworking hero, thanks for demonstrating your process I really appreciate it. I live in the midwest so the cold winter months are driving me indoors and it seems that shellac will be my only finishing option if I want to stay healthful.
I see you're using BT&C flakes, are the 'tiger' flakes any better or worse than the cheaper bags of shellac by the same company? Another question I have that no one seems to be able to answer, if shellac flakes can go bad with age, does the same thing not happen to the shellac once it has been applied to the work piece? Is it 'going bad' just in terms of the ability of the flakes to dissolve and be applied? How robust of a finish does shellac provide? Would you have any hesitation to use it on a wall cabinet?
I think I'll throw this in the pile for Shop Talk Live questions.
@@FineWoodworking hi! Did you talk about it? We're I can see it?
Tank you very much!👍🏽
Whats the point of the wax with the sanding ?
Thanks! Very useful information.
Lovely video, but I do have question. Online I find very conflicting statements on shellac shelf life.
How long can I keep my mix if I mixed it from flakes. The often quoted 6 months seems a bit short. Is that 6-9 months for the factory mixed version with aditives or does it really go bad that fast?
Thanks I learned a tremendous amount
It's interesting how some terminology differs from country to country. What he is referring to alcohol is commonly called methylated spirits in Australia.
Robert Delalande Same in the UK except ours is purple in colour.
I've am from US but I watch a lot of British You Tubers. I have noticed they often say "meths". It took me a while to understand what they meant. I really enjoy the British slang. Hard to understand why many of the British words did not come over to the US. I wished we used metric as well..
Doing it your way allows for fixing mistakes. Canned shellac with sealer is a different kettle of fish. The sealer makes all of the difference. If you have drips & runs with shellac sealer, it's very difficult to correct these mistakes.
Excellent demonstration, you've outlined better than others I've viewed in decades. Thanks
No links ????
Does a 2 pound cut mean 2 pounds in one gallon of solvent or does it mean 2 pounds of shellac in a gallon container filled up to one gallon. Of course, the difference being that the latter choice takes into consideration the volume displacement of the shellack, which, in a 2 pound shellac, would be about 1 quart. Therefore, it would only require 3 quarts of solvent to make a full gallon.
phantomcreamer it is typical for volume to not change in a significant manner when dissolving a solid in a liquid. In the case of Shellac, you only consider the volume of the alcohol before you add the flakes. The volume will stay nearly the same as the density becomes higher.
@@jasonasselin8657 That was entirely made up and inappropriate of you to mislead others. I have recently made several batches as well as work in a lab where I make solutions on the daily. Just like everything else, it displaces about a ml per gram. I learned that the rule is to add the shellack and top off to the appropriate volume. You'll notice that a two pound cut doesn't shrink in half when you make two liters after it dissolves, that is because it displaces volume in both solid and liquid states. Next time measure it and you'll see.
It's actually a bit confusing, even the information from shellac suppliers. Their fine print says, "The intersecting cell, above, shows the amount of dry lac (8 Oz.) to make 1 Quart of '2 Pound Cut' liquid shellac."
Here's the link: www.shellac.net/PoundCutChart.html
To add to the confusion, are we talking USA gallons (3.79litres) or imperial (4.54litres)?
But it actually is a bit pointless getting fussed. As the video shows, you very much have to use your judgement at the time and adjust according to the various factors like the density and moisture content of the wood, the ambient temperature and relative humidity, and whether you are making something that needs wrapping in the next hour or so.
Asking for exact amounts puts you in the group of so called artists who "paint by numbers". Don't do that to yourself... Excuse the pun, you need to get into the spirits of the thing.
Thanks very much for sharing your experience and knowledge with us. I'll save the link and watch it again for sure.
Hi bro I need a natural white colour .I mean a white wood and create white glaze .and wood colour look to original wood color.please help me.
Nicely explained. Making some cedar side tables and will give this a try.
People use Everclear for this? We make our own Amaretto with that! Thanks for the instruction!
what a great video! THANK YOU!!!
Moses sent me... and I always listen to Moses! Best to you and yours!!
Thanks for the info. Got a bunch of flake but have not been as successful as I would like.
Sounds Flaky to me😜 Thanks for the info.
What kind of paste wax are you using?
Excellent video. Thank you
Good info, thanks! I like how you desolve the concentrated cut for future use. Good idea.
Thumbs up for the Suzi Quatro reference
very helpful. thanks.
What kind of paste wax do you use?
bought a new can of Zinsser Clear and it does not say dewaxed like my previous can. I stirred and a tan semi solid came up from the bottom. I did the hard masonite top of my new work table and it turned out nearly glossy and went on like a 3 or 4 pound cut instead of 2. Nasty stuff.
I would not use this on furniture. Fortunately I have flakes at the ready. BEWARE
Zinzer makes a Shellac product called Seal Coat. I believe it is wax free. From what I've learned through reading is that the wax is not an issue as long as you are not going to put a non shellac product over top of it, say polyurethane.The wax might prevent the overcoat from sticking. A seal coat as the name implies would almost always be an initial coat followed by another product. If wrong about this, I dont mind a correction.
If you run out in the middle of a project, how do you make more of the same if you aren't measuring?
Because it's all from the same flakes it doesn't matter. You're just adding a solvent.
I love that turkey baster idea. I'm so tired of pouring cans and then having to clean up drips.
Btw, when you wave that board back and forth, you should say, "Man... who cut the cheese?"
Great tips Thank you.
awesome!
thank you
Recommended alternative to denatured alcohol? Does not seem to be available in Ontario Canada.
Denatured alcohol is known as methylated spirits here in New Zealand
Go to a liquor store and pick up some Everclear!
sorry lead to believe LCBO (ontario liquor store) does not carry Everclear. Plus liquor is taxed to death here so it would be to expensive.
I believe that in Canada denatured alcohol is called M.E.K. (methyl ethyl ketone).
Careful! MEK is not an alcohol. It's also known as butanone and is a ketone.
Here's my two cents : 1lb cut=12.5% or 1/8 shellac to 87.5% or 7/8 alcohol. Always measure by weight for consistent results.
2lb=25% shellac; 3lb=37.5%; 4lb=50%; 5lb=62.5%. I usually do 1lb cut, sand, do it again, sand, and by the 3rd coat I'm getting semi-gloss, if I want full gloss do another 2-3 coats of 1lb cut, and lastly 2 coats of 3lb with a light sanding between the 2 for the glass finish.
Shellac is too expensive for me. 30 for barely a 1/2 cut???? Come on now. . .
Heya, You have a helpful video here. The most complete woodworking projects that I have ever used was Toms Magic Wood (just google it). Without a doubt it contains the most helpful woodworking plans that I have ever tried.
Great explanation. That fits my favourite principle; KISS ... keep it simple and stupid.
Regards from Brandenburg, Germany
Honestly, the most easiest thing to mix.
I have no idea why some want to make it sound more challenging than it really is.
Redesolving the previous layer happens a lot when you use ethanol. I use isopropanol instead. The flakes don´t disole that quick, it may take two or three days but I donßt have any trouble with desolving when I apply another coat.
I'm refinishing mid-century modern walnut veneer furniture. I want a natural, clear, matte finish that you mention. Would this shellac finish protect the wood for a durable finish for dressers? You mention applying wax with steel wool as a final step. Is that necessary? Does that then need to be repeated for maintenance?
Great video, thanks! One observation though, it's a good idea to where gloves when using alcohol. It can be absorbed through the skin and if you have even a small cut alcohol can make it into your blood stream and that can be very ugly.