Info on Shellac

[54ball]

 I found an interesting link here http://www.wwch.org/Technique/Finishes/Story%20of%20Shellac.htm

 According to this information from the shellac industry, Clear or bleached shellac wasn't available in America until the  1840s.
 The shellac available in colonial times had a reddish purplish tint that was used as die.  If shellac was used on Colonial or Golden Age era firearms  it should exhibit the reddish color.  This may explain the finish on some early guns.

 I am by no means knowledgeable on this subject, I just thought it was interesting.  

[Stophel]

Shellac goes through various levels of refinement.  The raw stuff is "Seedlac" and contains orange and reddish grains...along with sticks, dirt, and dead bugs.  I think the next level up is "buttonlac", which is formed into round discs..."buttons".  I like using buttonlac, it has worked well for me.  Next up (I think) is Ruby Lac, then orange shellac, then blonde shellac.  Garnet lac is in there somewhere.  I think it is just like orange shellac, but selected for color.

Shellac imparts almost no color to the wood/finish at all.  Other colorants would have to be added to get it to really make much color difference, and it only really works that way as a top coat.  Having the grain filling applications heavily colored tends to just make colored speckles on the wood.   

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

dewaxed garnet shellac flakes...blond, amber & garnet or..100% shellac..and a few bug remains etc...but not much..certainly no solids!!  You can mix the flakes in different concentrations in denatured alcohol...... here is some info from Hocking..manufacturer of the finest..... order it here: http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/indextool.mvc?prodid=MS-GSHEL.XX%20

"Shellac is a natural resin secreted by the Lac Bug. Honest. This resinous secretion forms a protective cocoon for the developing Lac Bug larvae.

Among traditional wood finishers, dewaxed shellac is preferred as the best protection for fine wood surfaces. Shellac flakes are dissolved in "spirit", simple denatured alcohol, to make a finish that is considerably more "shop friendly" than other, petroleum-based finishes. A shellac finish becomes hard, durable, non-yellowing, and easy to repair. And it's nontoxic. In fact, shellac is used as a coating on pills, candy and fruits.

Shellac was the preferred finish for the highest quality furniture in the last century. Its fast drying-time speeds your production and minimizes dust in the finish. Shellac lets you build up many thin coats, enhancing the beauty of the wood without obscuring the grain. Your wood surface looks clean, crisp and natural. Since each application dissolves part of the last coat, scratches or surface blemishes can be repaired perfectly.

The various colors of shellac allow subtle tinting to enhance certain woods, match dissimilar woods, or blend a repair with the original finish. Also, Shellac forms an excellent vapor barrier that prevents moisture from migrating to or from the wood. Because it is dissolved in alcohol, shellac is the preferred, sandable sealer coat under other water or solvent based topcoats. It is often used to seal oily knots and other surface blemishes that could bleed through and stain the final finish.

As mixed shellac ages, its water-resistance decreases and its drying time increases. Since you mix Shellac yourself you are assured the freshest and most durable shellac available. Remember that because shellac is dissolved with alcohol, a finished surface can be damaged if a strong alcoholic beverage such as whiskey is spilled onto it and left too long. Shellac softens at about 150 degrees F (65 C) so avoid putting hot objects on a shellac surface. Shellac is an exceptional finish for chairs, bookcases, cabinets, beds, interior trim, picture frames, etc.

Sometimes the old ways of doing things are still the best. Old-fashioned tool steel works best for hand tool blades and old-fashioned shellac is still one of the most versatile and easy to use finishes for fine woodworking."

It is a fantastic sealer in for guns 1# cut........

[Tomegad]

Ive made allot of varnish using seed-lac. There are a variety of lacs coming from different areas some of them quite dark how ever even in multiple layers the result is very transparent. Color of course can be added historically it would have had to have been transparent lakes or perhaps earth colors, Aniline dyes the first of which were developed in the 1820s. Most are notoriously fugitive. .

[Rolf]

According to the DVD "Building a Kentucky pistol" by Mike Miller, he uses a spescial water resistant shellac finish on his stocks, which he says is pc. Does anyone know what this is? These people recommend button lac http://www.shellac.net/ShellacPricing.html .


Best regards
Rolfkt

[Michael]

I use Seedlac as a base for my spirit varnishes. Dissolve it in 'Bekol' solvent, hardware store alcohol has a lot of water in it. Found this out when restoring antique furniture with a French Polish finish. I dissolve several resins in the shellac by heating it on a hotplate. For color I soak alkanet root in Bekol and add the tinted Bekol to the shellac, this thins it for use and adds a nice reddish color to the varnish.

Michael

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

No shellac will hold up to direct water for any length of time.  I have no idea what Mike adds to his but I have found that the dewaxed flakes make a good sealer under Chambers Traditional Oil Finish. reduces hunitity exchange rate and therefor swellin and shrinking and the oil varnish protects from the rain etc.

"Dewaxed Shellac is necessary if the shellac will be used as a primer/sealer, undercoater or transitional coating.
A Shellac seal coat (made with dewaxed shellac) may be topcoated by almost any other clear coating or with paint.
(always test materials for compatibility in you application"

[Mad Monk]

No shellac will hold up to direct water for any length of time.  I have no idea what Mike adds to his but I have found that the dewaxed flakes make a good sealer under Chambers Traditional Oil Finish. reduces hunitity exchange rate and therefor swellin and shrinking and the oil varnish protects from the rain etc.

"Dewaxed Shellac is necessary if the shellac will be used as a primer/sealer, undercoater or transitional coating.
A Shellac seal coat (made with dewaxed shellac) may be topcoated by almost any other clear coating or with paint.
(always test materials for compatibility in you application"

I used the orange dewaxed shellac as a sealer in a highly diluted form.

You don't want shellac on the surface of the wood.  Only in the wood.

I also used to use a hard steel burning tool after the last coat of shellac sealer.  The pressure of the burnishing tools causes the shellac to melt and quickly solidify again.  Smooth finish results.

Shellac first came into Europe as a "gum resin" in the late 1600's.  In India they had never used shellac as a spirit varnish.  The shellac had always been applied on round things in a lathe.  As the piece would spin they would hold a stick of shellac against the part.  The frictional heating melted the shellac.  This was then smoothed with scouring rush and then polished.

So with the burning tool I was simply melting the shellac.  This was a way of dewiskering a finish.

A boiled oil or boiled oil varnish will not have good adhesion to shellac.  Why it is used as a highly diiluted sealer.  In the wood but not on the wood.

The top finish of boiled oil or boiled oil varnish will resist liquid water.  But water in the molecular form (humidity) will pass through it fairly easily.  Fairly permeable.  The shellac will transmit some moisture through the film of sealer.  As moisture enters into the shellac film it causes it to swell.  A point is reached in the selling where all of the pores are effectively closed off and no additional moisture will be transmitted through the film.

So a combination finish of shellac under a boiled oil or boiled oil varnish limits stock moisture changes on a daily basis.  NO finish can limit the seasonal changes in wood moisture content.  But it is the rapid, and sometimes extreme, changes in relative humidity that can cause stresses in the wood that then cause the wood to crack.

Shellac was used alone indoors.  As a floor finish and on some furniture.  It was easy toi refinish but would water or alcohol mark on furniture.  On floors it would crack and chip if something heavy was dropped on it.

E. Ogre

[Stophel]

I like to add a little Mastic to my Button Lac.  Supposedly, it will make it more elastic.  Whether it will or not, I don't know, but it sounds good.   

[smshea]

Ive said it before, Ive had great results on guns that call for that type of finish preparing it as is mentioned here and if you build up enough coats of wax on the gun....no water problems so long as you clean the gun after use as you would anyway.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

What Mad Monk says!! exactly true for me too. 

[Mad Monk]

In working with shellac only mix what you will use in a few days.

If after dissolving the shellac flakes in alcohol you don't get a crystal clear solution there may still be a bit of wax in the shellac flakes.  The cure is easy.  Just filter the solution through several layers of coffee filters.  The wax is not soluble in alcohol and will hang up in the filter paper.

Shellac solutions do not store very well.  According to the tech books I used the alcohol acts as an oxidizing agent on the shellac.  The longer you store the solution the more oxidation will have gone on in the solution.  This extends drying time.  The shellac does not release the alcohol quickly after it has undergone oxidation.  The resulting shellac films are slow to dry and may remain tacky for a fairly long period of time.  The desired properties of a dry shellac film are not as good once the shellac has undergone oxidation in the solution state.

E. Ogre

[Bill-52]

DrTim, Which flakes, blond, amber or garnet, have you found work best on a maple stock (with a Chambers oil finish)?  And what concentrations?  I think you've posted this before but I can't find it.

Happy 4th of July to all.

Thanks, Bill

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Bill, it all depends on the tone you want to add...... personnally I like red guns.....so dewaxed Garnet works for me. just adds a tint at most, not a lot of color.

As Mad Monk said... be sure you take each coat of sealer (1# cut) back to bare wood and then burnish before applying the Chambers Oil Finish.  obviously beware you don't sand your stain off, but you want the shellac in the pores not on the surface..... 1 to 2 coats should be plenty on maple as it is pretty closed grain compared to walnut......