jeffpNC Posted July 10, 2016 Report Share Posted July 10, 2016 Well, I moved on to a different part of the same project that my "fuzzy maple" post was about. On the earlier part, I was really happy with the results I got with the Zinser bullseye de-waxed shellac for helping with the fuzzies. On this last separate "front piece" of the vanity, I seem to have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. (sorry, I sanded on it afterwards, and there isn't really any way to take a useful picture of the resulting mess) As before, I planed and scraped my piece as best I could, and then applied a coat of the shellac. At that point all was well, but there were still some stubborn areas that were improved by the first coat, but not perfect yet... So, despite my little one-quart can being near empty, I decided to try to get one last thin coat of the shellac on this piece before moving on to the finishing lacquer. Well, that second thin coat turned into a really bad idea. Seemed to have trouble getting it to go on smoothly, and ended up with a thick glossy gloppy mess. Previous times that I have applied a second coat of the sealer (after very mild sanding), it went just fine. My only guess is that the bottom quarter inch or so of stuff left in the can was more concentrated with "bug juice", having not been stirred enough as the can got used up. Does this seem like a likely explanation? Have others seen this kind of failure at the end of a can? The shellac didn't seem noticeably different when "dipping" in the can or draining off the foam brush I was using...but it did seem slightly different in terms of brushability and how it went onto the surface. I likely made it worse by trying to solve the initial minor failure by continuing to try to "go over it again to try to smooth it out". Shellac sets up so quickly that you really don't have much time to try to fix up small imperfections in your technique by going back over them a minute or two later. Any words of wisdom will be appreciated. I think this morning I will run the whole mess through the planer and start over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted July 10, 2016 Report Share Posted July 10, 2016 Shellac is carried in denatured alcohol. Try to wipe the piece down with denatured alcohol (even rubbing alcohol in a pinch) and you should be able to get a lot of the mess cleaned up. What you ran into is one reason to always mix and then pour small amounts into a secondary container. The alcohol flashes off quickly. You can sometimes add a little into the bottom of the can when you get to the end and it is thick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted July 10, 2016 Report Share Posted July 10, 2016 People seem to have the most trouble with shellac when trying to use it as a "build" finish. A few very thin coats will give you a finish that requires no top coat in many situations. If you want to build (as you will eventually with you top coat) save that job for the top coat. Fortunately for you, shellac can be easily fixed. Put on some gloves, grab some paper towels and DNA. soak a paper towel and scrub the surface like you want to remove everything; change towels OFTEN. Once you think you have everything off, there will still be shellac soaked in to the top fibers of the wood. This will probably leave the result you are after (fixing the fuzzies) without a reapplication (in my experience anyway). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 10, 2016 Report Share Posted July 10, 2016 I'll toss in the reminder about using pre-mixed shellac that has been around for a while. Zinsser claims something like 3 years of shelf life for their product, but it is not easy to decode the production date from information on the can. When the shellac gets enough age on it, it starts to turn goopy, and can take forever to dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted July 10, 2016 Report Share Posted July 10, 2016 The date code rosetta stone: Thank you for your recent e-mail.The batch code on the shellac should always be a 6- or 7 digit number, beginning with a letter. For example: S01231D The first number after the letter will be the last digit in the year of manufacture The second character will correspond to the month; O, N or D for October, November or December, otherwise the single number for the month. The third and fourth numbers will relate to the actual day of the month. In this case a batch code reading S01231D will have been made in the year 2010, in the month of January, on the 23rd day. The Bullseye Shellac will have a shelf life of three years. An easy test is to brush or pad a small amount onto a scrap board; if it dries in 30 to 45 minutes, you're good to go. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffpNC Posted July 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2016 Thanks all. After yesterday's disaster, I tried to solve it with a glass of scotch. Who knew that alcohol would actually turn out to be the ultimate solution! Worked like a charm. The quality of the information available on this forum is raising the general level of the internet as a whole. Thanks again! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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