Using Shellac

[kjt1776]

New to finishing bodies, quick question, could shellac be used as the only finish applied.  thinking of tinting clear dewaxed shellac and applying multi coats to achieve a depth and final finish with it.  Any info or links to any sources I might find useful would be very appreciated.  thank you

almost forgot, was thinking of using tru oil as the final coat.

 

[bagman67]

Shellac is pretty near universal as an interface barrier between otherwise noncompatible finishes, and also as a final finish in its own right; but while it's easy to use, it's not terribly durable.  The good news is it's easy to repair, but the bad news is if you want your finish to continue looking newish, you'll need to repair it on the reg'lar.  I have had success using shellac as a sealer before laying down a few coats of tru-oil as the top coat.  Tru-oil, too, is easy to use and to repair, but is also comparatively fragile when you put it up against, say, polyurethane.  Both shellac and Tru-oil have the advantage that you can apply them by hand in comparatively sub-optimal environments like, say, your kitchen, if you lack a dedicated workspace with good ventilation. 


Here is 2 coats of rattle-can Zinsser shellac over dye'd curly maple, topped with six or so coats of Tru-oil applied with a coffee-filter.  I ended up with sort of a matte finish because, frankly, I couldn't be bothered to keep applying Tru-oil and then rubbing it out, but I really like it.

 

[kjt1776]

Absolutely beautiful bagman.  Thats the finish feel i was thinking of.  Also was thinking of doing one with a gloss like finish at the end.  Would shellac with a final poly finish over it be ok.  I prefer the matte look most of all but would like to protect it as well.

 

[Mr. Neutron]

Agreed; that's a TRULY BEAUTIFUL Guitar, Bagman! Nice Work!  :yourock:

Would shellac with a final poly finish over it be ok.  I prefer the matte look most of all but would like to protect it as well.

I don't have the guitar handy that I've done this on, but Yes, that works just fine. Like Bagman said above, shellac seems to get along well with most every type of finish. I think ya have to work hard at it to get it to react, wrinkle, or whatever.

Disclaimer: The BEST favor you can do yourself is to get yourself some scrap wood, preferably similar to or exactly what your guitar's body will be. It doesn't even have to be the exact type of wood, but that would be ideal. I typically use 1x2s or 1x3s from Home Depot or Lowe's, or whatever, and cut pieces about 6"-8" long. Use these for "scientific research".  ???  By that, I mean pretend its a tiny little guitar body, and go step-by-step through your Entire finishing process. Sand it to 220, 320, 600, and so on. Put on some sealer or your shellac, and figure out if brushing/wiping it on works for you, or spraying works best. For what you're wanting to do, I'd guess you'd wanna try wiping on some poly, or maybe spraying that on as well. And then you can practice buffing (or not) on the test samples. Start with a plan (asking here like you did is a great beginning), and then work it all the the way through on these pieces of scrap BEFORE you do it on the actual guitar body. Forgive me if you know this already, or have done it. I didn't think to do this on my first body I finished, and suffered through some wrinkles and other probs by launching right to work on the body itself. I have a recessive stupidity gene that sometimes goes dominant......  :tard:

One other thing about shellac going on first is the ability to tint it. I used blue dye mixed with a little black in some shellac on that first body I did. I had a "happy accident" with that, and it actually looked pretty good; had kind of a slightly opaque or translucent blue tint to it. But this is where having some wood exactly like what you're working on helps. You gain a much better idea of how the wood will react to how much dye or stain, or whatever, and how it will look. Hope this helps. Just be patient, above all else, and have fun!