# Arm-R-Seal over Zinsser Amber (NOT dewaxed)?



## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

I have a kitchen island I am working on, and have a finishing question. My main finish is going to be GF Arm-R-Seal. The cabinet construction is 3/4" maple ply with solid walnut face frame and trim. I was considering doing an initial coat or two of Zinsser's amber shellac first to give a little bit of a warmer hue. My concern is that I don't believe the Zinsser's amber shellac is dewaxed like their sealcoat is. Will I have a problem putting Arm-R-Seal over this shellac?


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

You won't have a problem putting it on, but it may come off over time. The general warning is that anything with urethane or polyurethane resins may have trouble adhering to waxy shellac (and a lot of other stuff). You wouldn't be able to topcoat it with seal coat before the Arm R seal either, the sealcoat will dissolve into the amber and some wax may come to the surface. But there's also a possibility you won't have any problems, although it's a gamble IMHO. If you want to go with the amber shellac, I'd choose a non-poly varnish for the top coat such as P&L 38.


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## Purrmaster (Sep 1, 2012)

Pretty much nothing adheres well to wax. This includes shellac with wax.

You can get dewaxed amber shellac. But it will be in flake form and will need to mixed with alcohol (not a difficult thing to do). The other finish should adhere just fine to dewaxed shellac.


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## ClintSearl (Dec 8, 2011)

Skip the shellac; it's superfluous.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

Use Seal a Cell for under coat for Arm R Seal.


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