Briwax finish blistering

[Mike Smith]

I’m in need of some advice. I’ve built a coffee table sized shadow box for a coworker and upon unboxing she discovered the top surface had blistered. It is made of cherry with maple accents. The top field and major carcass components are made of 3/4 cherry ply and the frame surrounding the top field is approx 3” solid cherry. For finishing I applied an initial sealer coat of dewaxed shellac (zinnser brand) followed by three coats Sherwood Lacquer.  I knew there would be a little bit of time between completion and delivery, and since it would be living in my dining room for about a month, I added a couple coats of Briwax to the top. Yesterday I wrapped it in bubble wrap, built a custom cardboard box to and wrapped the box in shrink wrap (being that it was so large and transported in the back of my truck I was fearful it would rain before I was able to dsliver it) and stored it in the garage overnight.  This morning I loaded it in the truck and was able to deliver it at about 3:30 this afternoon. The client sent me these pictures and said it the worst around the solid wood edge of the top with other small blisters in the middle. She also said the blisters are hard but brittle. Being extremely embarrassed about this I have got to fix it rapidly but not real sure where to start without causing more damage. I was thinking of removing the Briwax with either mineral spirits or naphtha but wanted to see if anyone else had experienced this before and how they corrected it. I live in the Raleigh NC area so the temp outside was in low 90s and high humidity. Any help on this is appreciated. 

Edited June 26, 2018 by Mike Smith
Pictures added

[wdwerker]

Sorry those aren't products I have used. Looks like it's not going to be a quick or easy thing to repair. 

[Coop]

I did some quick research on Briwax over shellac. I found that to be ok but I found there to be two kinds of Briwax. The original that contains toluene and the latest model 2000 which does not. Again, both over shellac are ok but the original over other kinds of finish less than 8 months old ( I believe that was the period) “ doesn’t play nicely with newly finished products”. 

[wdwerker]

Toluene won't play nice with the lacquer too. That's the sweeter smelling component in lacquer thinner. Xylene is the nastier smelling component. Then they add smaller amounts of other chemicals to achieve different results. The toluene is the stuff the EPA watches so lots of finish manufacturers are trying different work arounds.

[AceHoleInOne]

This is a strip job. Get a good chemical stripper containing MC and get er done. Skip the "seal" coat of shellac and go straight over the wood with the lacquer. Skip the briwax over the lacquer, not necessary.

I think what happened you waxed (2 coats) then sealed with bubble wrap and the wax didn't have time to fully gas off, thus softening the solvent lacquer underneath. So the solvents gassed into the wood through the softened  lacquer-- add heat and humidity being pulled into the wood from being stored in the garage. 

-Ace-