possible to spray shellac over lacquer?

[Jonhilgen]

Not very familiar with shellac.  Can I spray this over lacquer?

Thanks

 

[Tim Sproul]

Clean the lacquer well and abrade slightly with p180 or so abrasive.

Spray with dewaxed shellac.

Dewaxed shellac sticks to just about everything.  Regular waxed shellac doesn't have as wide range for adhesion.

 

[Jonhilgen]

thanks Tim.  That's the answer I was hoping for! 

 

[harry_]

Curious.

I could easily see the lacquer over (de-waxed) shellac but with shellac's vulnerability to alcohol, why would you want it as the top coat if you are going to use both anyway?

 

[butzla]

I don't mean to hijack this thread but I have a question on shellac too (I'm also not to familiar with it).  I just installed a fiberglass door and stained the interior with a gel stain (mahogony) to match the existing trim.  The existing trim has original shellac finish over 100 years old and it has an amber tint to it.  My question is, can I topcoat the gel stain with amber tinted shellac or should I follow directions and use a poly?

 

[harry_]

@Jim

To the best of my knowledge, there is little that you can not put over shellac. That being said, maybe you could go with the amber shellac, then poly it as per the recommendations.

Personally, I use shellac on just about everything as a 'finish primer'. I love the way it 'pops' the grain. However, because of shellac's vulnerability to alcohol, I always top coat it with something else.

NOTE: maybe we could get the ops to split this thread off for further discussion?

 

[Tim Sproul]

Curious.

I could easily see the lacquer over (de-waxed) shellac but with shellac's vulnerability to alcohol, why would you want it as the top coat if you are going to use both anyway?

When refinishing, a layer of dewaxed shellac is good insurance for getting the new film finish to adhere.  If you are certain what the old film finish is and are certain the new film will adhere well to the old, you can forgo dewaxed shellac.  If you are unsure, a layer or two of dewaxed can be helpful.

 

[mouppe]

Not very familiar with shellac.  Can I spray this over lacquer?

Thanks

Normally, you would apply the shellac first as it is a sealing coat. Then the varnish goes on top. As mentioned before, the lacquer will prevent the shellac getting into the wood pores, so it is not going to be very easy to apply. Also, it is not a hard finish unlike lacquer, so you are putting a softer finish on a harder one which makes little sense.

Can you explain further why you want to do this as there may be other better solutions?

 

[mouppe]

I don't mean to hijack this thread but I have a question on shellac too (I'm also not to familiar with it).  I just installed a fiberglass door and stained the interior with a gel stain (mahogony) to match the existing trim.  The existing trim has original shellac finish over 100 years old and it has an amber tint to it.  My question is, can I topcoat the gel stain with amber tinted shellac or should I follow directions and use a poly?

Yes, you can, but normally one coat of shellac is applied before the gel stain as well. Then the shellac goes on top of the gel stain as a top layer finish. Several coats, thinly applied. Try it on a scrap piece first as you may need to experiment with dyes in the shellac to get the colour match just right.

I used shellac with a gel stain on cherry and it worked out really well.

Richard.

 

[Jesse Cloud]

I'm a big fan of dewaxed shellac.  It will stick to just about everything and just about everything will stick to it.  Only problem is that its solvent is alcohol, so avoid any other alcohol based products.  If it says 'clean up with denatured alcohol' don't use it with shellac.  Specifically, I have had some problems with Behlen Solar Lux dyes bleeding into the shellac.

Having said all that, we all want to know:  why do you want to do this? [unsure]

 

[Jonhilgen]

Curious.

I could easily see the lacquer over (de-waxed) shellac but with shellac's vulnerability to alcohol, why would you want it as the top coat if you are going to use both anyway?

Inexperience mainly.  Have some cabinets that I need to match, and was in a bind.  I have a finisher that I typically use, but he's too swamped for a small job like this.  Long story short, cabinets already had a lacquer finish and I needed them to have a more glossy look and only had a satin lacquer spray can!  Used the shellac as of one hour ago and it's a dead-on match.

Jon

 

[butzla]

I don't mean to hijack this thread but I have a question on shellac too (I'm also not to familiar with it).  I just installed a fiberglass door and stained the interior with a gel stain (mahogony) to match the existing trim.  The existing trim has original shellac finish over 100 years old and it has an amber tint to it.  My question is, can I topcoat the gel stain with amber tinted shellac or should I follow directions and use a poly?

Yes, you can, but normally one coat of shellac is applied before the gel stain as well. Then the shellac goes on top of the gel stain as a top layer finish. Several coats, thinly applied. Try it on a scrap piece first as you may need to experiment with dyes in the shellac to get the colour match just right.

I used shellac with a gel stain on cherry and it worked out really well.

Richard.

I'm finishing a fiberglass door not wooden.  Just wondering if anyone's tried shellac on fiberglass.  And does dewaxed come tinted or can it be tinted?

 

[mouppe]

Sorry, I missed the fiberglass bit. Never tried it on that material.

 

[Jesse Cloud]

I've never tried shellac on fiberglass, but I would be optimistic that it will work.

Shellac can be tinted.  I usually use pigment powder or trans-tint.

Best advice though - try it on scrap first.

BTW, once I have the tint just right and get a good coat on the workpiece, I usually topcoat with lacquer, but that's where we started isn't it? [huh]

 

[junk731]

I was talking to Jeff Richardson at Wood Essence on Monday and during our conversation he mentioned an easy process for finishing fiberglass doors that they had developed to colour, finish and bring out the wood grain that is embossed on some doors. If your interested you can email him at: jeff@woodessence.com.

John

 

[harry_]

I don't mean to hijack this thread but I have a question on shellac too (I'm also not to familiar with it).  I just installed a fiberglass door and stained the interior with a gel stain (mahogony) to match the existing trim.  The existing trim has original shellac finish over 100 years old and it has an amber tint to it.  My question is, can I topcoat the gel stain with amber tinted shellac or should I follow directions and use a poly?

Yes, you can, but normally one coat of shellac is applied before the gel stain as well. Then the shellac goes on top of the gel stain as a top layer finish. Several coats, thinly applied. Try it on a scrap piece first as you may need to experiment with dyes in the shellac to get the colour match just right.

I used shellac with a gel stain on cherry and it worked out really well.

Richard.

I'm finishing a fiberglass door not wooden.  Just wondering if anyone's tried shellac on fiberglass.  And does dewaxed come tinted or can it be tinted?

Now that you have gel stained the door, you are no longer applying shellac to fiberglass. If the shellac will stick to that same gel stain on wood, there is really no reason for it to not stick to that same gel stain on fiberglass. De-waxed shellac really does stick to damn near everything. Look at all the candy that is coated with it.