Limited working time with shellac question

[Duane N]

With shellac, you don't want to apply a lot of coats, or you risk it crazing in the future.  The right number of coats is that number which just forms a continuous film.  That might be 2, 3 or even 4 or 5 coats depending upon how porous your wood was to start with and how you apply it.  But more than that and you are likely headed for disappointment. 

John

Thank you again John for the information.  I read about the cracking shellac can do under certain circumstances or too many coats or too thick of coats are applied.  On my test pieces three coats seemed to me the magic number as far as color and how the finish looked (uniform).  With the link frigator provided  I will be rubbing out the shellac after the last coat dries for a few days to even things out....

The coats I'm applying now are very thin.

[MikeBob]

Thank you again John for the information.  I read about the cracking shellac can do under certain circumstances or too many coats or too thick of coats are applied.  On my test pieces three coats seemed to me the magic number as far as color and how the finish looked (uniform).  With the link frigator provided  I will be rubbing out the shellac after the last coat dries for a few days to even things out....

The coats I'm applying now are very thin.

What pound cut of Shellac are you using?

[cputnam]

In my limited experience, I found that making a wad out of several microfiber cloths was the key. They can soak up a lot of shellac which means that they always are laying down wet stuff too. I work with the wad and a squeeze bottle of shellac. Every time come to the end of the panel, or whatever. I squirt some more shellac on the ball/wad. Works great for me.

[frigator]

My general rule is I do two coats of shellac with an hour of drying time between the two. Then I wait overnight and do two more coats. I scuff sand with 320 and use a red maroon pad between coats. I wait a few days to a week for the shellac to harden before rubbing out. You want to be very careful with the edges when rubbing out as it's easy to go right through the shellac to the wood.

That link to Jeff Jewitts site really helped me when I was starting out. I think I bought Jeffs book as I knew very little about finishing. I've used several of his recipes including the mission finish. If you're using figured woods I would not skip the linseed oil step.

[Duane N]

Because I'm not comfortable yet working with tinted shellac I resorted back to tinting distilled water using two colors of Transtint dye.  Stupid me didn't even think that I can mix in the same amount of dye I used in the can of shellac into the same amount of water to get the same color I was after.

So now I'm raising the grain of the wood before applying the new stain then after that dries working in some Danish oil, letting that set about 10 minutes then wiping off the excess.  Then I'll seal the surfaces with something.

I really appreciate all the input, advice and links that were provided and I will use what I learned on future projects.  I think the next one is going to be a small one rather than 5 tables like this first woodworking project for me.

[MikeBob]

I mix the liquid Trans Tint dyes in DNA, it does not raise the grain. Powdered Trans Tint dyes are not alcohol soluble.

[Duane N]

Hopefully this image shows up (shared from my facebook page) but here's one of the side tables after a coat of stain (distilled water mixed with amber and light brown Transtint) and a coating of clear Danish oil.  It also turns out the stock I bought for the table legs ended up being a piece of figured Maple but was in the soft Maple rack.  If I would have known it was figured Maple I would used it on the tops rather than the legs....oh well, lesson learned. 

For my first serious furniture project I'm quite pleased with the results so far but I have A LOT to learn building furniture and why I started out with a simple set of tables and kept it a basic design.

[fredhargis]

Nice clean design and a good choice for what you're doing. Well done!

[MattP]

I prefer shellac to any other type of finish. Have done some french polishing, but not an expert. What I find with shellac is I get my best results wiping it on. When the shellac starts to feel sticky under the rag, I sprinkle mineral oil on the work surface, which allows you to keep working the shellac. Not sure how that works, maybe the oil forms a sort of emulsion? It's derivative of the traditional french polishing technique, I think.

If you go on Youtube and search "The English Polisher" you'll see the method being used by a master. He's really good.

[MichaelMouse]

I prefer shellac to any other type of finish. Have done some french polishing, but not an expert. What I find with shellac is I get my best results wiping it on. When the shellac starts to feel sticky under the rag, I sprinkle mineral oil on the work surface, which allows you to keep working the shellac. Not sure how that works, maybe the oil forms a sort of emulsion? It's derivative of the traditional french polishing technique, I think.

If you go on Youtube and search "The English Polisher" you'll see the method being used by a master. He's really good.

Drop or two on the rag will lubricate things well enough to make a slick surface rather than a stick surface.  I like Grapeseed oil because it's nearly colorless, though olive oil will also do nicely.  Neither polymerizes, so wiping with flannel after the top shellac is dry is sometimes necessary.