Some Galoots comment on oil and shellac:
Priceless Tom:
> You don't need to let the oil cure. I have padded shellac based on
> Jeff Jewitt's instructions on his website,
> http://www.homesteadfinishingprod.com/shellac2.htm .
Just an FYI -- you can now get to his site just by typing
"www.homesteadfinishing.com" -- you don't have to add the "prod" any
more.
>
clip
>
> That's boiled linseed oil he's referring to, I'm thinking.
Ayup. Wonderful stuff. Actually, Jeff prefers Tried-n-True linseed oil,
which contains no driers. But it's heat-treated in a complex process so
it dries like BLO. He can afford the stuff. But I don't think you would
see any real-world difference in the appearance of the wood whether
you use $10/gallon hardware-store BLO or the high-priced T&T, when
you're topcoating with shellac anyway. However, T&T contains no
chemical driers or solvents, which is healthier for you and the
environment, FWIW. Personally, instead of mineral spirits, I use
turpentine to thin the boiled linseed oil, because it causes the oil to form
a more resin-like film then the min.spirits does.
> Jeff recommends some special cloth for application but I like to use
> old jocky briefs. The crotch portion makes a great wad for the pad
:^()
The purpose of the inner material is to absorb & hold a lot of shellac.
Any thick cloth will do, including BVD crotches; wool is particularly
absorbent. The outer layer's purpose is to present a smooth, wrinkle-
and fold-free surface to the wood. Linen excels here. But just about
anything will do; jockey-short rear-ends, t-shirt material, handkerchiefs,
etc. Just pull it tight around the core pad.
> Otherwise, I followed Jeff's
> instructions and the shellac dried perfectly with good adhesion.
Seems too
> good to be true, but it works and looks great. And it's fast. Just the
> thing for use baby-boomers with instant gratification expectations.
Heh heh. Crotches and wads and instant gratification...okay, okay, I'm
stopping.....
Shellac mixes with and adheres to just about anything. I actually mixed
it with spar varnish and applied it to my shop assembly table, but I
digress.
Just for S&G's, try mixing linseed oil and shellac in the jar sometime and
experiment with that. Seriously. Especially for friction polishing on the
lathe.
> Jeff's article on padding shellac is a must read.
Absolutely! And He's a great guy to do biz with. I think he
sells those squeeze bottles for shellac, btw. His prices on shellac are
not as good as Paddy's, but all his other stuff is top-quality and
reasonably priced. (Usual disclaimers)
> BTW, Dewaxed garnet Paddylac on mahogany is da bomb.
Now *here* is a man of discrimination, taste and breeding. Mahogany
and garnet paddylac is a match made in heaven!
with
> superblonde on sitka spruce. Superblonde Paddylac is amazing stuff
- dries
> fast, clear and hard. **************************** Tom Price
And buttonlac on oak, and orange or garnet on walnut, and blonde or
garnet on cherry or pine, and....
BTW, after the color coat, apply a couple of topcoats of blonde. Trust
me.
Mike Sully:
> I successfully used shellac over oil on a fiddleback maple handle for
a
> pigsticker mortise chisel. I used a different technique than was
recently
> described, however. After water-based dye, I used linseed
oil+mineral
> spirits, wiped off, and just let it dry enough for the mineral spirits to
> evaporate. Then I applied a few coats of shellac. Even though the
oil
> hadn't dried completely, it seems to have worked just fine. The oil
> really popped the figure.
Ayup! It works flawlessly. The only difference is that topping with
shellac over the wet oil makes the oil take longer to fully cure (since the
shellac seals off the air), so you'll retain that solvent smell for a longer
time than if you had let the oil cure first. For tool handles, that's no
BFD. For furniture, it might matter.
In response to Brent, Nuno wrote:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Brent Clukey
> > going to finish with shellac over oil. Do I need to do anything to
> the final
> > oil coat prior to the first shellac coat? Lightly scuff sand
> w/400+?
>
> Most definitely not. Although if you have some dust stuck to the oil, you
> might want to clean it up well before applying the Paddylac.
Ayup! Briefly, varnishes have to be scuffed before re-coating; shellac
and lacquer do not; unless, as Nuno points out, you have dust nibs,
June bugs, raised grain, or drips/runs to smooth out. Oh, and Paddy
figured out that you can use a scraper instead of glass paper to smooth
shellac.
> > two things I'm concerned about are the finished looks of the piece
> a
> > large bookcase) and the adhesion of the shellac to the oil.
> Don't apply the oil the same way as if you're only oiling. Ie, do not
> saturate the piece. Not that you shouldn't, just takes longer to dry.
> Make sure the oil coat is reasonably dry before the shellac goes on.
> That's all there is to it!
Ayup! The oil penetrates the wood. Think of smearing oil on a brown
paper bag (which, after all, used to be wood before it was a paper bag).
The smear would be translucent. Oil's effect on wood is the same, for
the same reasons; it adds translucence. It also collects in the grain and
pores, darkening them slightly, which adds "depth". All of this produces,
as they say in the trade, "chatoyance" -- which is a sort of 3-D,
'hologram' effect.
The shellac topcoat then acts as a lens, focusing light on all that
translucence and chatoyance. The shellac also adds sheen, protection
and color.
Having said all that, there are three different effects here, achieved with
variations on the method.
Variation #1.) Apply one coat of oil like any normal oil application,
letting it soak for 15 minutes to an hour, then wiping off the excess. Let
dry for a few days to a week, so the oil cures. Then build a series of
shellac topcoats for a film-finish -- I'm talking as many as 10 or 12 thin
coats of shellac. Then rub out the shellac to the desired sheen,
anywhere from satin to gloss. This should only be done on close-
grained woods, or on porous woods that have had the grain filled. This
is a formal finish, to be used on formal pieces, like a hall or sofa table,
or a display case (even a bookcase.)
Variation #2.) A shortcut version of #1, also described by Tom above,
when he quoted Jeff Jewitt. That is to use a thimbleful of oil per square
foot, rub in well, let dry for a few minutes, then proceed with a shellac
schedule of, say 4 or 5 coats, then rub it out and wax it. This results in
a slightly more satin sheen finish than (#1) above, but it's beautiful and
it's quick. It still looks like a shellac film finish, and the same rules apply
as in (#1) above -- that is, closed-pore surfaces; more formal
appearance. Only the most discriminating eye can tell the difference
between this and the first one above.
Variation #3.) Apply the oil like any normal oil application, letting it soak
for 15 minutes to an hour, then wiping off the excess. Then
immediately, while the oil is still wet, wipe it down with a shellac-soaked
rag, using plenty of shellac (the oil prevents the rag from sticking).
Don't think of this as a shellac finish. The purpose of this finish is to
mimic a close-to-the-wood, oil finish of four or five coats. Normally, four
or five coats of oil would require 48-72 hours of drying/curing between
coats (as much as two weeks to compete the finish! But with this
method of one oil coat, one immediate shellac coat, you get almost
exactly that same effect, but you are finished in an hour -- boom, done.
There's no rubbing out; but after a week, apply wax with 0000 steel wool
or abrasive pad, then use a soft-bristled, shoe-type brush to work any
excess wax out of the pores (on porous woods). Think of this as an oil
finish, to be used on open-pored surfaces, or on simple or rustic
pieces.
The shellac also adds a great deal of moisture protection, when
compared to a straight, linseed-oil finish. A straight linseed oil finish's
biggest downfall is that water will penetrate it within 10 seconds, no
matter how many coats you apply, or how long it has cured.
Just once, everyone should try the old-time, serious oil finish, where
you apply one coat every hour for a day, then once every day for a
week, then once every week for a month, then once every month for a
year. Then you will *know* what the deep, shimmering glow of this time-
honored finish really looks like. It's not just the build up of all that oil; i
t's
also the effect of all that rubbing and polishing, even if it's done with just
a rag, or a bare (gloved) hand. Then you can compare it to the
shellac/oil finishes and decide for yourself.
Paul Radovanic in Florida,
who just today applied finish number (3) above to a shop-made,
combination bench-hook / shooting board. One side is a bench hook
for sawing; flip it over and it's a shooting board for planing.
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