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Mixed black stain into shellac to give me a translucent black which looks pretty good but has some brush marks/ drips... do I

Sand wet/ dry/ grits?

Try to rectify with alcohol ( on the finish, not drowning my sorrows)

Sand right back and begin again(again again)

I want to get it even and then if I'm happy I'll tru oil over the top. Not looking for factory flat gloss by any stretch.

Thanks all

Really hard to photograph and it looks a lot blacker than this

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Another

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One more

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is the stain water base?
or oil base.

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Mike Collins

https://www.thecarpentrystore.com/p/che ... 0095030974

It's this. Mixed into the shellac not put on first. Which may have been a mistake


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being a spirit stain (alcohol based) it should mix O.K. with shellac. Scuff sanding the existing finish might give a better surface for recoating. It looks like there are small "bubbles" in the finish which when sanded might remove the color and create pinholes, but I may not seeing things right.

Hey Mike

What is it you are trying to correct?

Is it uneven color? Some areas darker than others?

In one picture it looks like some bubbles or finish that came out of pores forming little domes.

So, what do you want to correct?

Fresh shellac (as in newly mixed/tested) usually sands pretty well. I dry sand for the most part.

If the shellac is old it tends to be more gummy and sands with more difficulty.

All the more reason to test prior to application.

BR

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

I mixed the shellac fresh and did try on some scrap walnut and spruce and managed a lovely even colouring. But maybe the pieces were too small to show up my brush technique. The uneven colour from the brush strokes, easiest to see on the spruce top. I'll try a gentle dry sand maybe 400 grit and then perhaps another careful coat?

The smoothest that you will get, is a thin coat with a rag; like you would do to shine up sanded Z-poxy used as a pore fill. You just want an even shine.

That spruce almost looks like flamed, ribbon figured mahogany!

I like texture, but most like a mirror finish. One thing I don't personally like is a smooth flat finish. It's just begging for a thin coat of ANYTHING.

Just knock off the high spots. If you get even a quarter of it flat, it will look weird unless all of it is flat. It seems like a lot of bother to me! That is the difference between a varnished surface and a polished surface. A varnished surface doesn't have to be perfectly smooth, but lumpy, uneven, or thin, won't work either.

Even most new violins are pretty smooth today. Sprayed in a factory. Many old expensive violins have great texture on them, but some have been lavished with so much care that they have been rubbed perfectly smooth from French Polishing.

The color and texture changes with any sort of finish. Cracks, micro cracks, and chipping might be a disaster for someone who wants bowling ball smooth. It's just aging with a straight varnished surface.

Have fun.

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Why be normal?

"Wet" sanding shellac is done with odorless mineral spirits. As you might imagine, do this outside. Plenty of ventilation... Stay far away from any ignition sources. Glove up and don proper PPE.

Once you've got past the self-immolation and PPE concerns, the actual "wet" sanding with mineral spirits goes very well. It's easy, with, no weird blushing or sticky finishes or dust that turns to pills and marks up the whole finish halfway through...

Overall, brushed shellac turned out to be a dead end for me. The open time is very short and it tends to go on globby and runny. It is extremely sensitive to humidity and freshness of the denatured alcohol. It also takes a LOOONNNGGGGG time to fully dry out. I had one that continued to dry and shrink for a full year, leading to textured grain lines telegraphing on a rubbed out guitar finish.

I get the allure, and with French polish, maybe it delivers, but not brushed. There are too many negatives vs a quality short oil varnish.

I have switched from brushing to wiping shellac on all wood projects..
30 years ago I brushed 10 coats on a curly maple headboard. Took a week to dry but when rubbed out with water and wet/dry sandpaper, it looked great. With that many coats you can smooth out all drips and defects.

French polishing techniques get a great finish with a lot less effort. That is just my take on using shellac on 14-16 guitars and a lot of chairs and case projects.
shellac
I have found I get a fast build with 2# cut and a lot of oil. But the flaws that appear are still work to remove.I let it dry a few days and wet sand with 400 to 800. then rub on floor wax with 4-0 steel wool. I next want to try polishing compounds.

I have expiremented with leaving the swarf on after sanding and working it into the next coat.It does save expensive shellac and fills grain fast.

I have added red and black Transtint to shellac with good results. Everyone seems to like different looks; a mess to me will appear great to your friend. It's easy to sand it down to adjust shade. You can waste a lot of time working for a special effect and then
wonder if you really improved anything.

So I have spent a lot of time experimenting but enjoy the adventure.

Bob Howell


Said otherwise I just go in circles.

Shellac is easy to work with but as you expirment you gain skill and improve. You can come back and fix at any time.