NCWA Woodworking Forum

[JerryCouchman]

I tried a technique that was recently published in Fine Woodworking and it's really helped my furniture finishing. I like the look and durability of hand rubbed poly, but the numerous thin coats take time. By sealing the piece with one coat of dewaxed shelac, I found that one coat of poly is adequate for most of the piece. Any surface that will get a lot of wear (like a desk top) needs about 2-3 coats of poly (I used to do about 4-5!) Saves time, looks great and is probably more durable. I sand 220g between coats, and finish with a coat of wax. Anyone else using this?
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Jerry Couchman
Meadow Wood Custom Furniture

[Nick Van]

Hi Jerry

Yes. I've used shellac as a seal coat on numerous occassions. It really doesn't matter what your top coat is (as long as it's not water based). The shellac seal coat really improves the finishing process. As a matter of fact, shellac can be a fine top coat all by itself as long as the project will not see any water problems. Good luck.

[daduehning]

Jerry:
I've become a lover of shellac, especially as a sealer coat. It dries quickly, can go under anything and is easy to sand smooth. I've used it under both poly and Daly's Profin. Gene Benson loves to use shellac as a finish coat, then applies a good wax over it. Larry Tomovik is our club expert on Profin, he likes to rub the first coat in with 400 grit sandpaper. I'm not certain that Profin doesn't include poly as an ingredient.
Like you, I've become frustrated with the many thin coats demanded by wipe -on poly. Seems like I also always end up with runs because I try to apply a heavier coat. But I always end up applying 4 to 6 coats, mostly because I'm kinda obsessive. I haven't been sanding between every coat, only in spots needed to fix those runs. Maybe next time I'll try your idea of shellac first with fewer coats of poly and more sanding.
Doug