4 ms·

Shellac has uses but for most furnitures, you are better off using precat lacquer. Shellac takes a lot of trial and error to get it right for your specific uses

by lvl100 5y ago

Shellac has uses but for most furnitures, you are better off using precat lacquer. Shellac takes a lot of trial and error to get it right for your specific uses. So I recommend you experiment with it first. For example, denatured alcohol (from big boxes) has diff evaporative properties vs pure ethanol vs rubbing alcohol etc. Same goes for lubricants.

exDM69 5y ago
Shellac is really easy to use, and if you get it wrong, it's also easy to rub it off and go back a step. Modern lacquer finishes have lots of nice properties, but it is not as forgiving to use. And it is more difficult to repair.
mauvehaus 5y ago
A couple points of order: 1) I've never heard of anybody using anything other than ethanol for preparing shellac 2) You are unlikely to encounter pure ethanol outside of a lab. Ethanol can only be distilled to about 95%. Removing the remaining water involves somewhat more exotic processes (I'm a furniture maker, not a chemist) As for precat and other modern finishes vs shellac and other historic finishes, an excellent rule of thumb is that the more durable a finish is, the harder it is to repair or restore. Shellac, wax finishes, drying oil finishes, oil/varnish blend finishes, and soap finishes are all pretty repairable. They wouldn't be my pick for a dining room table for most people, but they're pretty easily renewable under normal use for most other applications.
- lvl100 5y ago
  You never heard of anyone using shellac with denatured alcohol from big boxes? Very interesting.
  - mauvehaus 5y ago
    Denatured is primarily ethanol and is what most people use, to my knowledge. People have also been known to use 190 proof grain alcohol from the liquor store, which is taxed differently (it costs a lot more) in the US because it can be consumed by humans safely. Rubbing alcohol is isopropyl alcohol, which I've never heard of anybody using. I'm not claiming that it won't work, but I've not tried it or heard of it.

by lvl100 5y ago

exDM69 5y ago

Shellac is really easy to use, and if you get it wrong, it's also easy to rub it off and go back a step. Modern lacquer finishes have lots of nice properties, but it is not as forgiving to use. And it is more difficult to repair.

mauvehaus 5y ago

A couple points of order: 1) I've never heard of anybody using anything other than ethanol for preparing shellac 2) You are unlikely to encounter pure ethanol outside of a lab. Ethanol can only be distilled to about 95%. Removing the remaining water involves somewhat more exotic processes (I'm a furniture maker, not a chemist) As for precat and other modern finishes vs shellac and other historic finishes, an excellent rule of thumb is that the more durable a finish is, the harder it is to repair or restore. Shellac, wax finishes, drying oil finishes, oil/varnish blend finishes, and soap finishes are all pretty repairable. They wouldn't be my pick for a dining room table for most people, but they're pretty easily renewable under normal use for most other applications.

lvl100 5y ago
You never heard of anyone using shellac with denatured alcohol from big boxes? Very interesting.
- mauvehaus 5y ago
  Denatured is primarily ethanol and is what most people use, to my knowledge. People have also been known to use 190 proof grain alcohol from the liquor store, which is taxed differently (it costs a lot more) in the US because it can be consumed by humans safely. Rubbing alcohol is isopropyl alcohol, which I've never heard of anybody using. I'm not claiming that it won't work, but I've not tried it or heard of it.