# New brushes say "Not for shellac or lacquer"



## RobinDobbie (Aug 25, 2013)

I bought a 36 pack of foam brushes from Amazon thinking I could use em for just about anything. So, what's the worst thing that could happen if I applied shellac or lacquer with these? Has anyone had experience with brushes that could only be used with certain solvents? I've got a project coming up that's going to involve india ink, but I usually use oil-based polyurethane. From what I can tell, india ink is an alcohol-based product that supposedly has shellac in it. I believe shellac's solvent is denatured alcohol, and polyurethane's solvent is mineral spirits. According to wikipedia, lacquer's solvents could be nitrocellulose, butyl acetate and xylene or toluene.

As an aside, the usual brushes I get from Home Depot do not stay glued when applying oil-based poly. After about 10-15 minutes the foam just slides right off the holder. I just applied about 30 square feet of poly tonight and the new brush held together just fine.


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## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

some people fail chemistry


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

I use the foam brushes to apply lacquer all the time despite the warning and never had a problem with it. They swell up a bit and can't be reused since you have to use thinner to clean them. I sometimes use an office stapler to staple the foam to the plastic holder when using poly. Since lacquer melts into itself, the foam will begin to melt and come off in little balls when putting a second coat of lacquer on. So, better to used something else.


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## altendky (May 7, 2012)

I don't know about these particular combinations but I would expect the worst thing would be the foam melting and goobering all over your project as part of the finish… I would guess noxious fumes would be an unlikely result simply because the warning isn't more serious (use of the word danger, etc).


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## RobinDobbie (Aug 25, 2013)

I was thinking as cheap as these are, it's not even worth the effort to try and reuse them. Even if solvents were free(and they're not), considering these are 30 - 40 cents a piece, I figure it's better to toss them. If they last one coat, perfect, because I'm not worried about a second coat. The only brush-saving techniques I think I'll take advantage of in the future is to pour just the right amount of finish into a glass jar, then seal the brush in the jar between coats, handle and all. I guess if the solvents don't melt the foam into the project but the pads start to come off, I can just staple them.


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

I use them for shellac all the time. If you use them too long they start to deteriorate.


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

They dissolve the foam, leaving little globs of black in your finish…not worth the risk, IMHO. Buy some chip brushes and use them,. Better yet, for shellac, just buy one and use it over and over….don't clean it, let it harden after use. Then before the next use suspend it in DNA or shellac for a few minutes, ti will soften right up and be ready for use.


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## distrbd (Sep 14, 2011)

pure hog bristle brushes are the best in my opinion for applying shellac, I bought a 1" years ago,still have it and use it for shellac only and nothing else.paid $6 five years ago so approximately a dollar per year is not much .
It brushes shellac very evenly with practically no bubbles, cleaning it with household Ammonia after use is easy although I could just leave it in the shellac jar but I like the brush thoroughly cleaned after each use.


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## RobinDobbie (Aug 25, 2013)

If I ever do get more bristle brushes, they will be of a good quality. Tried the $1-ish ones from HD and the bristles came off into the work immediately. I'll keep hog bristle brushes in mind if I do a huge shellac project.


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

The quality of the finish is in direct proportion to the quality of the brush used to apply it.


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## firefighterontheside (Apr 26, 2013)

I have had no problem using these with shellac. It's oil based poly that has unglued them, which there is not a warning for. Save the handles. Never know when you'll need a small length of 1/2" dowel.


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## BurlyBob (Mar 13, 2012)

Agree with a lot of these comments. Get the best you can and you'll be happier in the long run. Also when you get ready to thro the foam brush away, rip the foam off and use that plastic tab end as a glue spreader. Works like a champ.


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## RobinDobbie (Aug 25, 2013)

Yeah, I save the dowels, but the ones I've collected so far aren't standard sizes, and they're not even round! I haven't measured these new handles, yet. I'll save them anyway, might be useful to make toys or whatever.

Never thought about using the plastic pieces as glue spreaders. I bought a couple of cheap silicone baster brushes for that purpose, but I still use my finger way more than I should. And I have about 3 of the little 1" foam brushes I use for glue, as well. They're quite reuseable, only problem is they pick up little wood fibers that are impossible to get out. So once a glue brush, always a glue brush.


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## PaulDoug (Sep 26, 2013)

The only thing I like the foam brushes for is to pull off the foam and use the plastic thing for a glue spreader. I'm a good brush fan.


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## bbasiaga (Dec 8, 2012)

I've gone over to mostly rags For applying finish. I tealize not every dinish can go on this way but i like it a lot better than brushes or foam pads when I can.

Brian


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## bobasaurus (Sep 6, 2009)

The polyurethane foam on those brushes will apparently dissolve in alcohol or lacquer thinner, but not mineral spirits. I use mine for oil finishes and they work great.


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## JeffP (Aug 4, 2014)

One thing that is becoming clear to me about woodworking is that there is an ever-present opportunity to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Until your project is sitting in somebody's living room being admired…there is always an opportunity to follow up hours and hours of perfection with some tiny mistake that will ruin your hard work.

What Distrbd said about using a "real" brush (in his case some fancy pig hair variety I never heard of) is really interesting and gave me pause.

So applying shellac or lacquer is about as close to the end of the project as you can get…and we spend thousands of dollars on equipment and many hours getting up to that point. Why take a chance on using anything but the best finishing products and the best applicator you can find?

Chances are that even the "Cadillac" of brushes pales in comparison to the price of many of the other things we happily shell out Benjamin's for along the way.









This was the most expensive brush I could find at Woodcraft.com (Badger hair brush anyone?)


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

distrbd is spot on.


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

I wouldn't want to brush lacquer anyhow. Spraying is the only way to go. Actually I'm not a fan of brushing any finish. If I didn't spray, I think I would use wipe-on finishes. 
The best brush is still not as good as an average sprayer (and about the same price from some of the previous comments). 
Lots of ways to get the job done, just my own experience talking.


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## jeffswildwood (Dec 26, 2012)

I use them all the time for staining and polyurethane. I don't let the brush get really soaked as it will thicken. I only get one use out of them but I get the one inch brushes for .24 cents, wider a little more. I have a can full of the handles and use them as dowel screw hiders and through dowels. Some I peel the foam off and use the plastic insert as a glue spreader.


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

For one-shot use with shellac, you can't beat a foam brush. I've used them many times with my Cub Scouts (three sons over 15 years) on their wood working projects. They get built, then finished at the last meeting. The shellac is dried, so they can take their projects home without a bunch of stink that lasts for weeks.

They do tend to melt, especially with lacquer, but in this case they were tossed before they got to that point.

On a real project, I usually spray shellac, lacquer and poly. Though I did use a foam brush to apply some acrylic paint to the cart I made to transport my carving tool chest.


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

Like many other things, you can do the same thing many ways.

I have good brushes which I use for some projects. For ones that are not critical, such as jigs,shop cabinets, and such the foam brushes work great.

For good cabinets and some furniture, I use the foam brush for the first couple coats, give it a light sanding with 320 or 400, and the use wipe on poly.

I am certain that a spray setup would be better but have not decided to invest the time and money into it.

For a good brush, they need to be well cared for and cleaned appropriately. Cleaning brushes is one of my least favorite things.


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