# How soon to spray shellac over gel stain?



## Biruski (Dec 8, 2016)

Hi there. I am staining some raw wood cabinets made of alder. I am using General Finishes gel stain in Georgian Cherry. I used a shellac/denatured alcohol mix as a sealer before putting on 3 coats of the gel stain.

Woodcraft cautioned me that the GF gel stain sometimes "lifts" when you apply the top coat and to prevent that, advised that I spray on some dewaxed Bullseye shellac over the gel stain before I apply the urethane top coat.

Does anyone know how long I should wait after applying the 3rd gel stain coat before I can spray on the shellac? Is a single light spray sufficient or is there any value to several light coats of shellac between the gel stain & the urethane?


----------



## mrbob (Nov 3, 2016)

When the third coat is dry, since temp and humidity affects that and no info on that, at least 24 hours and wipe wit a rag to see if you get any to wipe off, if so it isnt dry. You could do 2 with a light buffing/ sanding after the first one, green pad or 320, lightly!!! Again, what is lightly on your spraying??? Real subjective!!!


----------



## woodbutcherbynight (Oct 21, 2011)

I agree with testing by wiping with a rag and if anything comes off it is still wet. Once dry to this spec wait say a week. What's the rush? Let the stain cure. Can't hurt to wait and waiting too long is much better than applying a finish only to have issues.

You see this alot with people using epoxy. Sure it is dry to the touch in a short time but it takes time to cure. If done right it works well. Rush it and issues come up, usually at a bad time.


----------



## Biruski (Dec 8, 2016)

Thanks Mrbob, you're right it's difficult to quantify "lightly."

Alternatively, is there a need for anything beyond one coat of shellac? Again, my goal is just to prevent lift, I'm going to put urethane on top of it.


----------

