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I gave my daughter two end tables years ago made out of walnut and finished with shellac. The finish was really nice - until she had two kids! I am going to redo the finish. My plan is to sand down the shellac to get a uniform base, and then top coat with a couple of coats of WB clearcoat - probably General Finishes - either High Performance (which I have used in the past) or Enduro Var II (haven't used). A little concerned about the ambering with EV-II. Normanly would use ArmRSeal for max protection but need to get it done in one weekend there, and worried about drying time. Thoughts/suggestions/criticisms? Thanks as always...FPT.
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(04-29-2021, 12:11 PM)fptahoe Wrote: I gave my daughter two end tables years ago made out of walnut and finished with shellac. The finish was really nice - until she had two kids! I am going to redo the finish. My plan is to sand down the shellac to get a uniform base, and then top coat with a couple of coats of WB clearcoat - probably General Finishes - either High Performance (which I have used in the past) or Enduro Var II (haven't used). A little concerned about the ambering with EV-II. Normanly would use ArmRSeal for max protection but need to get it done in one weekend there, and worried about drying time. Thoughts/suggestions/criticisms? Thanks as always...FPT.
Apologies - I thought I put this in Finishing but obviously did not - my mistake. Can mods help? Thanks...
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If the shellac you used originally was a dewaxed shellac, I think I'd try to repair it and then top coat. Repair should be as easy as padding it with just alcohol, it should smooth out. If it wasn't dewaxed you might still be OK, but you are taking a chance the top coat won't adhere well. I wasn't aware that there was an Enduro Var II, so i haven't used it either. But the tint in Enduro Var is there to mimic it's oil based counterparts and it won't darken/change over time. Even so, there may be something more durable you want to use. I know John often mentions GF Clear poly....I haven't tried it yet because it was only available in gallons (last time I looked).
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(04-29-2021, 01:10 PM)fredhargis Wrote: If the shellac you used originally was a dewaxed shellac, I think I'd try to repair it and then top coat. Repair should be as easy as padding it with just alcohol, it should smooth out. If it wasn't dewaxed you might still be OK, but you are taking a chance the top coat won't adhere well. I wasn't aware that there was an Enduro Var II, so i haven't used it either. But the tint in Enduro Var is there to mimic it's oil based counterparts and it won't darken/change over time. Even so, there may be something more durable you want to use. I know John often mentions GF Clear poly....I haven't tried it yet because it was only available in gallons (last time I looked).
Thanks for the advice, Fred. I think a better idea than my original approach. I know it was de-waxed shellac because I mixed it myself from flakes. I will give it a try. Thanks again.
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If it is really shellac, I would not sand it. Here is a simple set of directions on repairing shellac finish:
https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/repairin...sh-3536500
Repairing
Fortunately, shellac finishes are easy to repair. Shellac is basically a mixture of natural shellac flakes (derived from an insect secretion) and alcohol, and applying additional coats of shellac to a previously shellac-finished project will cause the existing shellac to dissolve somewhat, allowing scratches and other imperfections to be repaired by simply adding a new coat.
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