# New to Shellac: Spray vs Brush



## Nighttripper (Jun 19, 2012)

Hi guys,

I've been doing a ton of research on finish, reading various books as well as LJ and SawMill threads. I just finished a really nice Poplar Tea Box, and would really like to nail the finish. I am going to use CN Blotch Control and GF Water Based Antique Cherry, with a Shellac Finish.

I know I'm going to have to do a ton of practice to get decent with the Shellac. I hear first encounters with Shellac can be very frustrating.

Question: For a beginner, would I be better off starting with a really good brush, such as that sold by Jewitt, or just buy an HF spray gun, as I already have a compressor ?


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

I've done both brush and spray, and find that spraying (for me) is easier. Practice first.
Bill


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

Did you consider padding? On pieces that don't have a lot of details (like moldings, etc.) it may be the easiest. I can spray shellac, and I can pad it (and french polish…which is padding with 5X the work). But put a brush and jar of shellac in my hand and I can ruin a project faster than with any other finish. So, brush if you want…but be sure to practice (a lot) on scraps before you start on your Tea Box. BTW, if you choose to brush, dedicate one to shellac service, adn don't bother cleaning it after use. Shellac only turns hard, so before the next use put the brush in some DNA for maybe 15 minutes and VIOLA, you are ready to go. (I'm pretty sure there is suppose to be an accent mark in that word somewhere).


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

I like spraying shellac. It takes some practice. If you have a spray gun you can practice by spray water first on some cardboard. Shellac does come in a rattle can. Make sure you use dewaxed shellac that way if you decide to put another finish over it.


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## Nighttripper (Jun 19, 2012)

Thanks for the fast responses guys….I guess the verdict is in….spraying it is.

Now just have to hope for good temp/humidity next weekend here in NJ. I really hope to have some great pics to post when finished.


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## Earlextech (Jan 13, 2011)

Spray it! Obviously.


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## ssnvet (Jan 10, 2012)

Either way you go, just don't get your coffee cans mixed up and use water to "clean up" your equipment…

or you'll get a first hand introduction to the great white gum monster.

Don't ask me how I know this.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I would brush or pad it on. Spraying is messy and wastes
finish. If you are already experienced with spray equipment
that could influence your choice though.

Shellac is forgiving actually. French polishing where the 
shellac is compressed with friction and pressure using
oil as a lubricant in later coats is a challenging technique
to learn, but you don't have to do a french polish to
get excellent results with shellac. You can just brush
or wipe it on, sand lightly between coats, and build it
up like most other film finishes.


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## NiteWalker (May 7, 2011)

Spray on most projects; wipe on smaller ones.


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

I'm with Loren on this one. I think shellac is one of the most forgiving finishes. Wipe or brush it on and and sand lightly while building it up. I am pretty good with an HVLP gun but try to avoid spraying finish. It makes way too much of a mess.


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## Nighttripper (Jun 19, 2012)

In terms of appearance only (Sheen, Depth, Clarity), and not Protection/Durability or Speed, do you all think that shellac is worth it relative to the ease of say a GF Arm R Seal ??


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

A really bad spray gun is better than a really good brush.

Get a Woodriver gravity-feed HVLP and spend a Saturday learning to spray. You won't regret it. 
The gun costs $30.


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## jmos (Nov 30, 2011)

I've had good luck brushing and padding shellac. My shop is in the basement so I really don't have the option to spray. If I did, I would probably try it, but brushing is a lot less mess and waste.

I found the Gramercy shellac brush work great http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/store/dept/CGT/item/GT-SHEBRU.XX/Gramercy_Tools_Finishing_Brushes_for_Shellac_and_Lacquer

I like the fact you can clean up with ammonia too.


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

Brush. Do you want the piece to look handcrafted or like it came from a factory? Do three coats and when done rub with 0000 steel wool and use pastewax. Shellac dries in minutes depending on how old it is and the humdity, so you can be done in a couple of hours, including the drying time. Clean you brush in alcohol when done.


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

Nighttripper, I actually get better results brushing shellac than I get with Arm-R-Seal. Me and polyurethane don't get along well though. For things that get handled a lot, like a box, I hate using poly. It makes the piece feel like plastic to me, not wood. I would use some shellac then maybe spray a coat of lacquer on after, or just simply do what dhazelton said. I generally rub out my finishes with wax applied with 0000 steel wool.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

I always brush my shellac and it results in a great finish, easy to apply, dries fast providing you follow a few rules: I dilute my Zinsser Bullseye shellac 1:1 with denatured alcohol, use a good quality brush, DO NOT OVERBRUSH, sand between coats with 220-400 grit. I use Ammonia cleaner to clean my brushes (Much cheaper than DNA and reusable almost indefinately)


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## Alongiron (Jan 10, 2011)

I use shellac on all my projects using a $0.49 foam brush from the hardware store. Brush on 2 light coats followed by a light sanding with 1000 grit sandpaper. Apply 1 more coat using the same sandpaper you just used; which makes it like 1500 grit….1 or 2 coats of paste wax and you have a beautiful smooth finish for many years to come.


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

Learn to french polish. You won't regret it. The results will blow you away. 
It's not that hard but you can't learn it from reading about it, you have to be shown.
Enter youtube. There are some great videos that do a very good job of explaining and showing the process.


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## Nighttripper (Jun 19, 2012)

Thanks Everyone for the replies!


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## Ironman50 (Jun 5, 2012)

I am comfortable with spraying since Shellac dries up quickly.


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## Roadcruzer (Sep 20, 2016)

I am new to this formam and have been reading this post. My question is I am redoing a vintage camper with brand-new birch paneling in it I didn't really want to brush it as there's lots of paneling to brush but I'm worried about spring shellac due to the overspray do you think I can spray without getting overspray on everything ? I have did tons of spraying with H VLP sprayers I have a harbor freight sprayer I also have a $300 auto sprayer so I am pretty confident I can lay on a good finish with the exception of the overspray . What do you all think ??


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## jwmalone (Jun 23, 2016)

Brush, and you don't need a high dollar brush just a good one. No shellac finish in my opinion looks good until you rub it out. Then its beautiful. Plenty of videos on the subject. So if you're going to rub it out, doesn't really matter how you get it on there. 
gfadvm has good advice, only I don't cut mine, but look at 10 different nice shellac finishes and you might get 10 response on how they done it? Just follow the basic rules. Nice choice with the poplar, if done correctly its beautiful, the stuff is under rated I think.


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## Roadcruzer (Sep 20, 2016)

Thanks a lot for the response when you say rabbit out are you talking like a French polish ? The shellac thing is a brand-new thing for me


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## HorizontalMike (Jun 3, 2010)

Nighttripper,
Many of the folks who advised me ~3yr ago are already in this thread and giving great advice!

Here is what they helped me do when I started shellacking. And yes, it is a learning curve:
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/78752


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## jwmalone (Jun 23, 2016)

> Thanks a lot for the response when you say rabbit out are you talking like a French polish ? The shellac thing is a brand-new thing for me
> 
> - Roadcruzer


No sir, not a French polish. Just rub it out with mineral oil and super fine paper.


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## Roadcruzer (Sep 20, 2016)

So it sounds like you're more wet sanding it for the final finish using mineral oil and then wipe off the oil correct ?


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## jwmalone (Jun 23, 2016)

> So it sounds like you re more wet sanding it for the final finish using mineral oil and then wipe off the oil correct ?
> 
> - Roadcruzer


Yes sir, its a very old school method like I said there are tons of free videos. You use the oil as a lubricant while sanding with your paper to finer and finer degrees, its not hard to remove all the shellac so be care full. The difference between hand rubbed and spayed on finish is striking.
http://www.woodwrecker.com/woodworking/how-to/shellacrubout.shtml


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## KelleyCrafts (May 17, 2016)

I love Shellac. Use it more than anything else. I usually brush it on and then I'll sand with 600 grit very lightly then do steel wool. I usually use 0000 steel wool but bought 000 last time by mistake and it doesn't seem to matter much.


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

Combination of spray and pad/French polish. Spray to get enough film thickness, then pad to smooth to a glass finish. Much faster than padding alone.


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## Roadcruzer (Sep 20, 2016)

Since I've never applied shellac and know it dries real quick I am worried about even wiping it and leaving streaks doing large areas on the paneling. I like your idea of spraying and then sanding but do you think the overspray will be a problem since I am doing an enclosed whole trailer 13 ft . It seems like if I sprayed and got overspray on the other dried areas in there it would send off with hand sanding you think it would work ?
I also want to thank everyone for your comments as I have a ton of work rebuilding this trailer and the last thing I want to do is screw up my finish on the inside !


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## jwmalone (Jun 23, 2016)

Spraying makes a mess.. When you wipe in on it always looks bad until you rub it out,


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## Roadcruzer (Sep 20, 2016)

So if I use bull's-eye amber shellac out of the can should I thin it more when I'm doing my paneling to wipe on or as far as that goes if I decide to spray ?


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

Bull's eye amber is a 3# cut waxed shellac. As long as you don't plan to top coat with anything else, a waxed shellac is fine. Here is an excellent article on shellac by Jeff Jewitt that should answer all of your questions.


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## jwmalone (Jun 23, 2016)

Well Mr. Cruzer ill give ya my Grandpas advice. Some times a man has to take into consideration the advice of others and his training…. then prime his weapon, lace them boots up tight, cinch up the ole apple sacks and hit the [email protected]#$ing beach. LOL that's why I keep recommending rubbing it out its fool proof, don't over analyze it you'll do a great job I'm sure.


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## Roadcruzer (Sep 20, 2016)

You couldn't of said it much better sir thanks for the advice !


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## bigideaslittleskills (Sep 22, 2016)

I watched a video, where the builder used a brush dipped in a thinner to start. Used 4 coats, then sanded to a smooth finish cleaned the item ( a chess board) then applied 7 coats of lacquer finish then polished with high grit paper from 800 up to 1500 then used a powder…..in the end it looked like a mirror…a lot of hand work time laps on video was about 40 hours of sanding to get the polished finish….....


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## Roadcruzer (Sep 20, 2016)

Easy to do on a little chest table but I have a whole trailer to do don't think that will be my way !


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## CharlesNeil (Oct 21, 2007)

Spraying cures so many ills, it just cant be beat, once you take the time to learn how,


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## Roadcruzer (Sep 20, 2016)

I already know how to spray but my concern was spraying in this little box trailer with a few open window holes and doing the walls and ceiling and everything and it drying so quick how much overspray what I have to deal with


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## KelleyCrafts (May 17, 2016)

You could always do this.


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## jwmalone (Jun 23, 2016)

> You could always do this.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'm going to try that one day


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## Roadcruzer (Sep 20, 2016)

Don't think I'll try that one but with your expertise in this if I'm going to do the hard wiping deal could you do the math for me to change the 3 pound cut to a 2 pound and a one and a half pound how many ounces what I mixed with a court for each ? I've included a pic when I'm getting into .


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## Roadcruzer (Sep 20, 2016)

As you can probably tell I'm using voice recognition which doesn't work that well !


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

for just a small tea box… why not just get a rattle can of Shellac?


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## Planeman40 (Nov 3, 2010)

I was working once again with shellac yesterday. My favorite finish.

I have always brushed it on. Never have sprayed. I mix my own shellac from the raw shellac buds and strain it through a wad of women's nylon hose. Works fine. I find the following procedure works best for me to get a glass smooth finish on closed pore woods like maple.

Apply stain or dye, let dry. Wipe with damp rag (water) to raise the grain, let dry. Do not sand at this point. Apply a coat of shellac. Let dry. Do not sand. Apply 2nd coat of shellac. Let dry very well. Sand.

At this point I want to emphasize how to sand. The 2nd coat of shellac should give you a somewhat shiny surface with a lot of rough spots. Use a strong light and sand, watching the gloss disappear as you sand. The sanded areas will become rough and scratched and any low spots and pores will show up as little bright shiny spots that still need to be sanded. Keep watching the surface gloss disappear and sand until there are no glossy spots. At this point your surface will be leveled.

On flat surfaces, I often scrape the surface with a single-edge razor blade instead of sanding. Use a sharp one right out of the box. Works wonders! Try it!.

Now apply two more coats of shellac, one after the other. Let dry VERY well, like over night. The surface will be glossy again. Sand with fine sand paper until once again there are NO glossy spots when viewed in a strong light (I often use a magnifying visor at this point to really see the surface). Next rub down with 0000 (four ought) steel wool, the finest grade. You will begin to get a sheen to the surface. Keep rubbing until you have this sheen all over.

This next step is important. Use a piece of paper towel to buff the surface to a nice shiny glow. Apply a light pressure when doing so. This is called "burnishing". This will give you a satin gloss that is nice for furniture finishes.

If you want a hard gloss, apply a slow drying high gloss polyurethane with a fine brush (I use large wide artist brushes. House paint brushes are too coarse). A slow drying paint allows time for the paint to level out and settle to a beautiful mirror gloss finish. Let it dry for a full day before handling. No further polishing needed.

As shellac is thinned with alcohol, be aware that if used on furniture it will dissolve if an alcoholic drink is spilled on it. It is also subject to spotting if water is left on it. Other than that, Its a great finish as is for furniture. To avoid these problems, apply a durable coating over it like polyurethane.

Planeman


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

This may be a dumb question, but does one need to take more spraying precautions since the shellac is alcohol-based, and thus flammable? I've had good results with spraying, but only ever WB finishes.


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## Roadcruzer (Sep 20, 2016)

I am using Zinser waxed shellac in amber for my camper trailer as in the pick a couple post above . you mentioned putting a final coat of polyurethane over it for a more durable finish but what I've been reading you cannot put polyurethane over a waxed shellac


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## Roadcruzer (Sep 20, 2016)

Not sure what Dr. dirt was talking about a small Teebox ?? Using spray shellac out if I can doing a whole interior of paneling in the camper which is Birch paneling


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## Planeman40 (Nov 3, 2010)

"you cannot put polyurethane over a waxed shellac"

So far I have never knowingly used a "waxed" shellac. I do know what I have used (polyurethane) works well over the shellac I have used. As I stated above, I buy raw shellac in solid form (little hard beads) that have come straight off the tree. It has bits of tree bark and shellac bugs in it and that us why you have to strain it. Raw shellac is much cheaper and as a solid it stores for a long time without deteriorating. I keep it in a large glass jar with a cap on it. You just pour some beads in a jar and add some denatured alcohol and let it sit for a while. After it is dissolved, I make a paper funnel and cut the tip off it. I then take a small wad of women's nylon hose and stuff it into the hole, pulling some of it through. The multiple layers of nylon hose makes a good strainer. When done, just toss the paper funnel in the trash.

You can speed up the dissolving by swishing the mixture around in the jar. You can read all about shellac on the Internet.


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

> Not sure what Dr. dirt was talking about a small Teebox ?? Using spray shellac out if I can doing a whole interior of paneling in the camper which is Birch paneling
> 
> - Roadcruzer


His project is a TEA box (you know the kind you drink)

so my question is that why would you go buy a spray gun and the rest, when a 7 dollar can will easily take care of the project which would be 1/2 the size of a shoebox. For a project that small I would use a rattle can before I would drag out my HVLP gun and listen to the noisy compressor drone…. just to avoid the hassle or clean-up


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## Roadcruzer (Sep 20, 2016)

OK you shellacer,s out there want to thank you for the previous help I now have three coats on there at about a one and a half one and three-quarter cut of the Zinzers amber shellac I sanded with 200 grit lightly after the second coat and now I have the third coat on what do you suggest now ? I have been using the wiping process which now my right arm is bigger than my left ! Paneling is smooths but still feels a little grainy. wondering if I should go for strength through a 3 pound cut and wipe on was thinking of sanding with 400 grit after the third coat and before the fourth what you all think ??


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

> OK you shellacer,s out there want to thank you for the previous help I now have three coats on there at about a one and a half one and three-quarter cut of the Zinzers amber shellac I sanded with 200 grit lightly after the second coat and now I have the third coat on what do you suggest now ? I have been using the wiping process which now my right arm is bigger than my left ! Paneling is smooths but still feels a little grainy. wondering if I should go for strength through a 3 pound cut and wipe on was thinking of sanding with 400 grit after the third coat and before the fourth what you all think ??
> 
> - Roadcruzer


I wouldn't try to wipe a 3 pound cut…. well actually you might try it in a spot - but 3 pound cut will get 'tacky' really quick especially since you are trying to cover a large area.

Have seen where some folks do shellac using isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol - - since it will flash off slower, and give you more time to keep a wet edge and level the strokes out.
I have not used that method. I'd be spraying a project that size.


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## Roadcruzer (Sep 20, 2016)

Yeah I think you're correct I have been cutting mine with denatured alcohol and it seems like it dries very quick even wiping at a one and a half to 2 pound cut the problem with spraying in an enclosed area was I think it would dry to quick And I would have overspray on everything. I guess I'll stick to my one and a half to 2 pounds but was just curious on the grit of sandpaper I should be using and how many coats . I guess as far as coats whatever it takes so I'm satisfied to look very smooth and a new arm !


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

One of the advantages of the quick drying of shellac is that when sprayed the overspray dries and falls as dust vs sticking. Mount a fan in a window to pull air through the trailer and exhaust the oversray otherwise it will get foggy. If you have the ability to spray try it. Worst case is you need to remove lite overspray by wiping or lite sanding. You will get far more shellac on the surface vs wiping.


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