7 Questions about Shellac for Wood Finishing

 Product Data Sheets, Shellac Flakes, Wood Finishing Tricks  Comments Off on 7 Questions about Shellac for Wood Finishing
Dec 212018
 

1 – Q: Shellac is an old-fashioned, outdated finish.

A: No, Shellac is all natural, organic, child safe. Shellac has more modern features
and ‘green’ benefits than any other wood finish in the world.

2 – Q: Shellac turns ugly and dark as it ages.

A: Shellac is naturally UV-resistant and does not yellow or darken with age.
The dark shellac seen in older homes is a less-refined version that was naturally dark,
or was tinted by finishers when dark wood colors were popular in the early 20th century.

3 – Q: Is shellac made from bugs or bug droppings?

A: No, Shellac is a resin secreted from the tree sap by the lac insect to form a cocoon,
much like a silk worm. It takes about 100,000 lac bugs to make 1 lb. of shellac resin.

4 – Q: Does a shellac finish turn white when water touches it?

A: A properly applied shellac finish is remarkably water-resistant and, in most cases, will stay clear after hours of exposure to water, making it a great finish for most interior surfaces, including woodwork, trim, doors, cabinets, paneling, furniture, and for floors, Button Shellac (yes, floors!)

5 – Q: Is Shellac brittle or easily scratched?

A: Shellac is a tough, durable finish that is less brittle than lacquer and is not easily scratched. The process of making Button shellac yields a tougher resin. Unlike polyurethanes, a damaged shellac finish can be easily touched up or renewed
by brushing on another thin coat.

6 – Q: Is Shellac compatible with other finishes?

A: Shellac will adhere tenaciously when applied over almost any other type of clean,
wax free, and oil free finish.
(To assure a clean surface, especially on older grimy surfaces, use a wood cleaner like
Mohawk Wax Wash, to avoid possible stains or damage from water based cleaners.)

 To seal wood before applying polyurethane or other finishes,
Bulls Eye® SealCoat™ is a shellac-based universal sanding sealer that is 100% wax-free.

For refurbishing a worn finish, a SealCoat makes an excellent transitional coating or bonding coat between an unknown coating and a new topcoat.
Note: (Regular shellac may not be compatible as a sealer under certain polyurethanes, as they contain small amounts of natural wax.)

7 – Q: Can I make a Shellac SealCoat?

A: Yes a ‘SealCoat’ is a DEWAXED Shellac Resin dissolved in
Mohawk Shellac Reducer / Behkol or a 190 Proof Denatured Alcohol.
With a wide color variety of Dewaxed Shellac Flakes, you can make your own
universal sanding sealer in a range of light to deep tones to match your project.

 

About Denatured Alcohols

 Mohawk Finishing Materials, Shellac Flakes, Wood Finishing Tricks  Comments Off on About Denatured Alcohols
Sep 292018
 

“Not all Denatured Alcohols are equal”

USE a GOOD Shellac Solvent for making your own shellac ‘Seal Coat’ finish.
A ‘denaturant’ is added to Ethanol Alcohol (a drinkable spirit) to make it unfit for consumption.
The original denaturant was Methanol Alcohol.
The term ‘methylated spirit’ is still sometimes used when referring to Denatured Alcohol. ——–

Unfortunately NOT all Denatured Alcohols are equal and there is no purity standard for ethanol content to be labeled  “Denatured Alcohol”. High test, 190 proof (5% denaturents), Denatured Alcohol is preferred as a Shellac flake solvent.

It is next to impossible to find a 190 proof alcohol at the ‘big box’ home improvement or hardware stores. Many brands have as little as 50-60% Ethanol – and the balance cheaper alcohols and denaturing solvents.
Recently I went in search of high test Denatured. Out of ten paint, hardware and home improvement stores – only the local Sherwin Williams paint store had 190 Proof. The Material Safety Data Sheet will list the ingredient percentages of the product (most cans do not).

A 190 Proof Denatured Alcohol is operator and earth, ‘Green’, friendly.
“Klean-Strip Green” is one retail brand of ‘190’ Proof Denatured Alcohol.
If you find a 190 proof Denatured Alcohol, buy locally and save on shipping.

We ship Alcohol in Quarts & Gallons

•• Shellac Reducer ‘Behkol Alcohol’ (Denatured Alcohol) is formulated by MOHAWK specifically to dissolve shellac flakes and dilute or ‘cut’ liquid Shellacs.  Shellac Reducer will make a shellac that has
a little more open and working time.

Shop Note: By using a known Denatured Alcohol proof or purity and settling on a brand you will have more predictable results by eliminating one finishing variable.

We adjust for weather and heat conditions by adding SHELLAC Retarder (not lacquer retarder).
When the shellac is drying too fast due to heat, low humidity, or excessive airflow, add just enough retarder to enable easy application.
When spraying, shellac retarder will help eliminate over-spray and orange-peel.
Avoid over-use of the retarder.  Keep in mind that use of the retarder will require longer drying times between coats of shellac.

To: ‘Pound Cut’ Mixing Ratio
for Shellac Flake in Denatured Alcohol
Printable vesion (pdf)

BLACK Shellac

 Shellac Flakes  Comments Off on BLACK Shellac
May 142016
 

“BLACK Shellac” ••  Yes! Black

Black waxy shellac is obtained from the by-products of seedlac, waxy shellac production and rosin. The color is all natural from the raw materials. No additional pigment is added.

• The first coat on Light toned woods has a Cordovan
     (Blue Red) Mahogany tone.
•• A second coat is Deeper and Dark Cordovan toned Black.
••• The third coat yields the BLACK!
       with a shadowed hint of DEEP Blackish-Purple.

Note: To obtain a Deep Rich Black on blond or light toned woods,
use a Black DYE on the bare wood to obtain optimum richness and depth of tone.

Shellac  Description & Price List

Paint Strainers – now available

 Shellac Flakes  Comments Off on Paint Strainers – now available
Sep 082012
 

Paint Strainers

Filter foreign matter or undissolved solid particles found in various stains or finish coatings (Shellac, varnish, lacquer, stains or paints).
Paper cone with a full flow mesh tip for faster performance and no wasted finish left in the strainer.

We like these paper cone strainers for filtering of Shellac solutions.
Shellac resin with more natural organic materials may clog these strainers if used for first filtering. The Seed, Button and Black shellacs benefit by filtering through layers of coarser Cheese Cloth first.

available: FC8 – Pack of 8   &    FC20 – Pack of 20

• • • • •

French Polisher’s Handbook

 Shellac Flakes  Comments Off on French Polisher’s Handbook
Apr 192011
 

French Polisher's Handbook

Facsimile Reprint of

The
French Polisher’s
Handbook

Circa 1910 London,
104 pages,  5.8 in. × 8.3 in.

A wealth of early information on
furniture polishing, gilding, bronzing, etc.


Web Special – With any order – $15.95
CA, add 8.75% ($1.15) sales tax
NOW Shipping !

(This ‘Shop Copy’ is spiral bound to lay perfectly flat on the bench)
Place your order here: https://www.shellac.net/ReprintFPB.html

or
See: INTERNATIONAL Orders — Post Paid Pricing
•••••

 

THAI Seedlac

 Shellac Flakes  Comments Off on THAI Seedlac
Mar 202010
 

THAI Seedlac

THAI Seedlac yields rich warm Red amber tones, excellent for rosewoods, mahogany, redwood.
Intermix with other shellacs to impart reddish warm tones.
These coarse raw seeds remind me of crushed red brick.

Seedlacs are harvested from the “sticklac” by crushing and sieving to remove organic material leaving behind the “seed”.
The sieved lac is washed to remove insect parts and other soluble material, leaving the product we know as seedlac.
The prefix “seed” refers to the seed like pellet shape of this basic natural material from which all shellac is made.

Strain the liquid shellac through a paint filter or cheesecloth,
to remove any organic debris (proof this is an organic & natural product).

The natural colors of the seedlacs are result of the sap consumed by the lac insect and the season of harvest.

See all our seedlacs at:The Shellac Variety List

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