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A customer's 1920s oak dresser taught me about shellac
I was working on a piece with a cloudy finish and kept adding more coats of poly, thinking it would clear up. The owner, an older guy from Albany, mentioned his grandpa always used a 2-pound cut of shellac as a sealer. I tried it on a test spot, and the cloudiness vanished after one coat. I had been making the finish worse by trapping moisture under the plastic topcoat. Anyone have a good source for pre-mixed dewaxed shellac, or do you mix your own flakes?
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ruby49411d agoTop Commenter
Ever think shellac was just some old-timer stuff? I used to avoid it, figured modern finishes were better. Your story about the cloudy dresser is a perfect example of why I was wrong. Trapping moisture under poly is such a classic mistake, and shellac fixes it because it seals but still breathes. I mix my own from flakes now, it's cheaper and I can make a fresh cut. The pre-mixed stuff goes bad too fast for how little I use.
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amy_robinson10d ago
That story about the 1920s dresser really hits home. I messed up a maple table the same way, just kept piling on poly like it would fix itself. When you mix your own from flakes, how do you test that you've got a true 2-pound cut? I've heard the alcohol can mess with the weight.
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