Amber Shellac on Pine

[Halfathumb]

The first coat was blotchy in places. Totally my fault. I used a sponge brush for that coat. Would it be better served if I use a good brush for the subsequent coats?

[MsNomer]

Brush is probably irrelevant. Pine absorbs unevenly.

[Rob Young]

Luck for you the sponge brush survived. The alcohol tends to dissolve them.

Taklon brushes are great for shellac. Spraying is even better. Just using the aerosol Zinser as a first coat helps.

Pine needs a few coats to even out the color.

[Scoony]

Yes, a few more coats. I love the look of amber shellac on pine.

[Cooler]

I use sponge brushes for shellac.  They seem to last about 20 minutes and then the sponge gets too soft to use.  For many projects it is still my "brush" of choice.  No cleanup and a nice even result.

I don't think that the brush was the culprit.

[Rob Young]

Taklon brushes : http://www.dickblick.com/products/royal-...lue-packs/

You can also buy a 2" or 2-1/2" from places like Hobby Lobby.  That 2" brush will be big enough to do a medium sized table without issues. Inexpensive and last.  Just let them harden, hang it up and next time soak it in the shellac or just some alcohol for about 10 minutes.

The smaller shaped artist brushes (Filbert mop is a handy shape for small projects) are also reasonably priced.

Another alternative is a Japanese hake brush.  They tend to shed for a while but the hockey-stick shape of some could be helpful for inside corners and confined spaces.

But so far, I've had better luck with the Taklon ones.

[Cooler]

I've used the Taklon brushes, but either I got a bad brush or from a lousy manufacturer but it shed bristles which I had to pluck off by hand.  At that point I switched to foam.  

If you are saying that they are not shedding I will give them another try.

[Rob Young]

I've used the Taklon brushes, but either I got a bad brush or from a lousy manufacturer but it shed bristles which I had to pluck off by hand.  At that point I switched to foam.  

If you are saying that they are not shedding I will give them another try.

If you can inspect the ferrule before buying, do so.  A metal ferrule you can give a little tap to tighten. Too much and you deform it and make the problem worse.


Work the brush vigorously on your palm to pop out the loose bristles.  Worst problem I've had was with cheap Hake brushes but those aren't Taklon bristles.  But even expensive sash brushes will shed a few at the start.

Not bad for $10 (http://www.hobbylobby.com/Art-Supplies/B...ush/p/6793) and you can often find 40% off coupons in the paper or on-line.  In the store, pick through the ones on the hook because you can get one with a crappy ferrule and that's just going to frustrate you later.