|
|
Salvaging a Bad Shellac Job
Question
Forum Responses
From the original questioner: Thanks for the response, however, the problem is that the homeowner spent three weeks searching the finish color she wanted and the first two coats were tinted. He says she was unable to find any other color with stains of any kind. I kind of think he was looking for an easy way out. But, he's a good customer of ours so I really wanted to try and provide him with some solution to be able to leave the color coats on there. He said he thinned some clear shellac a lot. I thought that thinned lacquer would lay down better, yet dry fast enough not to destroy the colored shellac. Any other ideas out there other than removal of the existing shellac? From contributor C: Using the alcohol as suggested is the best way to handle the situation. The big difference is this - apply the alcohol to a pad such as used in French polishing, in long strokes. The alcohol pad will slowly soften the finish. Use a delicate touch when you start out and increase pressure as you go and the pad becomes dryer. Add more alcohol as you proceed and continue until you have the brush marks smoothed out as much as possible. Your rag will pick up color as you go along. This is normal, just make sure the pad is not so wet as to remove the entire finish or lighten the color in random areas. After you have smoothed the brush marks out, then let dry and apply a coat of either nitro or acrylic sanding sealer, let dry, and sand with 320 no fill. A second coat might be necessary; if so, repeat procedure. After that, apply a nitro on nitro or ac on ac in gloss and touch up tone any light areas with toner to match. By then your finish should look very smooth and uniform and you can fine sand and top coat to the preferred sheen the customer wants. Shellac is totally compatible with nitro and shellac, but as mentioned should not be built up with more than one or two 2lb. cut coats because of its brittleness. If by chance the finish that's now on there is a very thick coating it could cause premature cracking, etc. It will be up to the customer to decide if he desires you to attempt it or not. Make sure you let him make the decision and that you get paid for your attempt and that there is no guarantee. Do one small piece or area to show him what the finished product is going to look like and have him sign and approve it to cover yourself.
From contributor B: I agree with contributor C, but I would rather not use any coat after the shellac. Only thin layer of varnish if you want to keep safe with that finish, because shellac is sensitive with other coats. Guarantee no crack on it. Try it on a piece of wood. Would you like to add information to this article? Interested in writing or submitting an article? Have a question about this article? Have you reviewed the related Knowledge Base areas below? 
|
