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a Shellac Wood Finish

What You Need to Know

About a Shellac Wood Finish
By Scott - Saws on Skates February 12, 2019
Finishes 4 Comments

Shellac is a warm colored finish for wood

that’s easy to apply with a rag, brush or
sprayer. It dries quickly so multiple coats
can be applied in one day.

Shellac is a natural finish that has been

used for thousands of years. The color of
shellac ranges from garnet to clear and it
enhances the natural beauty of wood.

Have you ever attended a woodworking

show hosted by The Woodworking Shows?
It’s a great place to check out new tools
and see tool demonstrations, but they also
offer some amazing woodworking classes
included with the price of admission.

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Recently I attended a Woodworking Shows

event and sat in on the “Choosing the Right
Finish” class presented by Jim Heavey. On
The Woodworking Shows website it says
“Jim has been a woodworker for over 30
years and a contributing craftsman and
educator for WOOD Magazine since 1997.”

Jim shared valuable information with the

class about using penetrating oil, shellac,
lacquer, and polyurethane. I’d like to share
with you what I learned about using a
shellac finish for our wood projects.

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Before we get into what we need to know

about shellac, be sure to click the
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What is Shellac?
Jim started his talk by sharing with us that
shellac is a natural finish and has been
used for used for thousands of years.
Shellac is a film forming finish so it protects
by forming a film on the surface of our
wood projects.

We also learned shellac is an evaporative

finish. In other words, it dries because the
denatured alcohol mix with the shellac
evaporates into the air and leaves the
shellac behind.

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How is Shellac Made?

As Jim mentioned earlier shellac is a
natural finish. Shellac is made from the
“cocoon” of the Lac beetle. The cocoon is
hand scraped, boiled and laid out to dry in
sheets.

When the sheets have dried they are

broken into flakes. Then the flakes are
mixed with denatured alcohol and this is
the mixture we apply to our wood projects.

Shellac can be purchased in flakes.

And it can be purchased premixed with

denatured alcohol.

What Color is Shellac?

Shellac has a warm color and enhances the
natural beauty of wood. The colors of
shellac range from garnet, amber and
clear. Jim said shellac develops a patina
and darkens with age. (I should note the
can of shellac I have in my workshop says
“Will not darken with age”.)

Can Shellac be Tinted?

There’s good news if you’re not a fan of
garnet, amber or clear. Jim told us shellac
can be tinted to achieve a different color
for our wood projects.

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What is the Shelf Life of

Shellac?
Jim gave us a heads up about the shelf life
of shellac. He said the shelf life of shellac
flakes we mix with denatured alcohol is
about six weeks. The shelf life of store-
bought premixed shellac is three years.
Premixed shellac has a date stamped on
the can so we know when it’s past its shelf
life.

What are the Pros and Cons

of a Shellac Wood Finish?
Pros
Shellac enhances the natural beauty of
wood
Shellac is easy to apply
Shellac dries quickly so multiple coats
can be applied in one day

Cons
Shellac is only available in high gloss
(but it can be dulled with 0000 steel
wool)
Alcohol will remove shellac
Shellac is not as durable as other
finishes, but it’s easy to repair

Where Can You Use Shellac?

Jim said shellac is a great finish for
heirloom pieces and jewelry boxes. He
cautioned us to be careful when choosing
shellac as a finish for certain projects
because it can be removed by alcohol.

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In other words, shellac is probably not the

best finish for a dining room table where
alcohol may be served. The shellac finish
will be removed if any alcohol spills on the
table.

Related: How to Make a DIY Farmhouse

Table Top

How to Apply Shellac

Jim shared with us that shellac is easy to
apply to our wood projects. It can be
applied with a rag or a brush and shellac
can also be sprayed with a paint sprayer.

Related: 9 Paint Sprayer Mistakes You

Don’t Want to Make

The denatured alcohol in shellac

evaporates quickly so we can apply
multiple coats in one day. Jim said each
new coat of shellac “eats” into the previous
coat which means we don’t need to sand
between coats. (I should note the
directions on my can of shellac says to
sand with 220 grit sandpaper between
coats.)

One reason we may need to sand shellac is

if we found a defect (drip, dirt, etc.) in the
finish.

Related: 11 Secrets for Sanding Wood

Projects Like a Pro

How Long Do You Have to

Wait Between Coats of
Shellac?
Shellac dries quickly so we only need to
wait about an hour for it to dry between
coats. Many times it will dry even quicker
than an hour.

How Many Coats of Shellac

Should You Apply?
Two to three thin coats of shellac will
generally give us the look we want for our
DIY projects.

Can You Apply Shellac Over

Stain?
Shellac can be applied to bare wood and it
can be applied over a stain. We should wait
24 to 48 hours for the stain to dry before
applying shellac.

Can Shellac be Used as a

Primer?
Jim said shellac can be used as a seal coat
for wood but he gave us a word of caution.
He said when we use shellac as a primer,
sealer or in between coats of a different
type of finish (lacquer, polyurethane, etc.)
that we to use dewaxed shellac.

He told us shellac naturally contains wax.

Paint, lacquer, polyurethane, etc. can’t
stick to wax. Jim said once the dewaxed
shellac is dry we can put just about
anything we want over the top of it.

Shellac-based white tinted primers are also

available. Zinsser BIN Primer is great for
sealing wood and wood knots. Skate over
to How to Stop Knots from Bleeding
Through Paint to see how I seal knots on
my wood projects.

How is Shellac Removed?

As we discussed earlier shellac is made
with denatured alcohol and is sensitive to
alcohol. Alcohol will remove shellac.

Final Thoughts
Shellac is a natural finish that has been
used for thousands of years. The colors of
shellac range from garnet to clear and
enhance the natural beauty of wood.
Shellac is an easy finish to apply with a rag,
paintbrush or paint sprayer.

Thank you for stopping by. If you found this

information helpful, would you please pin it
to Pinterest? Other DIYers would
appreciate it and I would too! Thank you –
Scott

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