{"id":1795,"date":"2018-12-21T11:04:02","date_gmt":"2018-12-21T19:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shellac.net\/news\/?p=1795"},"modified":"2023-07-08T11:10:54","modified_gmt":"2023-07-08T18:10:54","slug":"7-questions-facts-myths-about-shellac-for-wood-finishing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shellac.net\/news\/7-questions-facts-myths-about-shellac-for-wood-finishing\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Questions about Shellac for Wood Finishing"},"content":{"rendered":"

1 – Q:<\/span> Shellac is an old-fashioned, outdated finish.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A<\/strong>: No, Shellac is all natural, organic, child safe. <\/span>Shellac has more modern features
\nand \u2018green\u2019 benefits <\/span>than any other wood finish in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

2 – Q: Shellac turns ugly and dark as it ages.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A<\/strong>: Shellac is naturally UV-resistant and does not yellow or darken <\/span>with age.
\nThe dark shellac seen in older homes is a less-refined version <\/span>that was naturally dark,
\nor was tinted by finishers when dark wood colors <\/span>were popular in the early 20th century.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

3 – Q: Is shellac made from bugs or bug droppings?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A<\/strong>: No, Shellac is a resin secreted from the tree sap by the lac insect <\/span>to form a cocoon,
\nmuch like a silk worm. <\/span>It takes about 100,000 lac bugs to make 1 lb. of shellac resin.<\/span><\/p>\n

4 – Q: Does a shellac finish turn white when water touches it?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A<\/strong>: A properly applied shellac finish is remarkably water-resistant <\/span>and, in most cases, will stay clear after hours of exposure to water, <\/span>making it a great finish for most interior surfaces, including woodwork, <\/span>trim, doors, cabinets, paneling, furniture, and for floors, Button Shellac<\/a> (yes, floors!)<\/span><\/p>\n

5 – Q: Is Shellac brittle or easily scratched?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A<\/strong>: Shellac is a tough, durable finish that is less brittle than lacquer <\/span>and is not easily scratched. <\/span>The process of making Button shellac<\/a> yields a tougher resin. <\/span>Unlike polyurethanes, a damaged shellac finish can be <\/span>easily touched up or renewed
\nby brushing on another thin coat.<\/span><\/p>\n

6 – Q: Is Shellac compatible with other finishes?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A<\/strong>: Shellac will adhere tenaciously when applied over <\/span>almost any other type of clean,
\nwax free, and oil free finish.<\/span>
\n(To assure a clean surface, especially on older <\/em>grimy surfaces, <\/em>use a wood cleaner like <\/em>
\nMohawk Wax Wash<\/em>, <\/em>to avoid possible stains or damage from water based cleaners.)
\n<\/em>
\n<\/em> To seal wood before applying polyurethane or <\/span>other finishes,
\nBulls Eye\u00ae SealCoat™<\/a> is a shellac-based <\/span>universal sanding sealer that is 100% wax-free.<\/span><\/p>\n

For refurbishing a worn finish, a SealCoat makes an excellent transitional coating <\/span>or bonding coat between an unknown coating and a new topcoat.<\/span>
\nNote<\/strong><\/em>: <\/span>(Regular shellac may not be compatible as a sealer under certain polyurethanes, <\/em><\/span><\/span>as they contain small amounts of natural wax.)<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

7 – Q: Can I make a Shellac SealCoat?
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A<\/strong>: Yes a \u2018SealCoat\u2019 is a DEWAXED Shellac Resin <\/span>dissolved in
\nMohawk Shellac Reducer \/ Behkol<\/a> or a 190 Proof Denatured Alcohol<\/a>.
\n<\/span>With a wide color variety of Dewaxed Shellac Flakes<\/a>, you can make your own
\nuniversal sanding sealer in a range of light to deep tones to match your project.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 – Q: Shellac is an old-fashioned, outdated finish. A: No, Shellac is all natural, organic, child safe. Shellac has more modern features and \u2018green\u2019 benefits than any other wood finish in the world. 2 – Q: Shellac turns ugly and dark as it ages. A: Shellac is naturally UV-resistant and does not yellow or […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5,3],"tags":[7,13,11],"class_list":["post-1795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-data-sheets","category-shellac-flake","category-wood-finishing-info","tag-behlen","tag-notes","tag-shellac","category-1-id","category-5-id","category-3-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shellac.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shellac.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shellac.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shellac.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shellac.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1795"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.shellac.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1795\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2987,"href":"https:\/\/www.shellac.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1795\/revisions\/2987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shellac.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shellac.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shellac.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}