Shellac based polishes

[nicguthrie]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I was down at my local hardware shop, after finally having gotten my workshop up and running (YAY!) checking out what finishes they have handy - mostly for future reference, and for inspiration as to what I can try using only local stuffs.

I was looking for a shellac finish, and got served a healthy dose of confusion with it. The only Shellac based finishes I could see were French polish, White Polish and Button Polish, all seem to be blends of Shellac in thinners, but, what is the difference between them? Why would I use one instead of another? I can't imagine one is only used for buttons, one for French furniture and one practices apartheid...

Could someone enlighten me?

Thanks in advance.

Nic.

 

[marcros]

Nic,

I will do my best to give you some pointers.

The difference between the polishes is colour- varying degrees of refinement make a lighter and lighter colour. The "button" is the shape that the shellac is pressed into before being sold. More often than not, I believe, if you buy it in the raw form now (as a consumer) it tends to be flakes now which disolve quickly. It is all basically shellac and an alcohol (meths or similar). Unless you are actually french polishing, I wouldnt worry too much about the "cut" (strength). Shellac sanding sealer is a weaker mix, typically a light coloured base. If it is going under something else, I have been known to just add a bit of meths to a bit of button polish and it seems to work.

I would have a look at Smith and Rodger's website. It will show you the different shades, is competitively priced and more importantly there is a good turnover. The ready mixed polish has a shelf life, and a local hardware store may have it sat on the shelf for months. Buy as small a container as you can if buying ready mixed. Alternatively buy flakes and mix up a bit as and when.

It is worth investing in a decent brush, which if cared for will last a long long time. I use a mop from rosemary and co http://www.rosemaryandco.com/watercolou ... uirrel-mop (I think it was one of these- IIRC a size 12). They are not cheap, but are cheaper than buying similar from anywhere else, and she makes them by hand. You need to specify that it is for applying french polish, because the tip is a bit different to the same range used for painting.

Finally, all of the different manufacturers of shellac polishes do a slightly different range, with different descriptions. You can get colours that go from virtually colourless, through blonds, button, garnet and even black, which makes the traditional piano black. I really struggled to find good pictures of, for example, oak with the different polishes on, so it is a matter of trying them out. Button polish is quite an orange colour. If you are confused, I particularly like Smith and Rodger because you can tell them what you are hoping to achieve and ask them questions and they reply quickly.

HTH

 

[nicguthrie]

Fantastic, thanks for the education!

I've fancied trying a shellac polish since I read about a quick and easy method of using it in a book about finishing techniques a few weeks ago. I know that there are many "easier" and more robust finishes on the market these days, and that Shellac was in it's heyday before the invention of the likes of modern water based varnish and acrylic varnishes, but I think there's something very attractive and warm about the traditional Shellac ones, and if it's as easy as that book made out, I'd love to have a go.

The book suggests diluting with isopropyl alcohol, and I've been looking into getting some, but it seems to be a lot of hassle in the UK, so does Meths do a good enough job? Wouldn't it add a purple tint to lighter coloured preparations?

Thanks again.

Nic.

 

[Leif]

Surely isopropyl alcohol is easy to get? I have a large can. It is not pure, but for your purposes I presume it is okay. The pure stuff is hard to get, and is ideal for cleaning optical surfaces.

 

[MIGNAL]

Isopropyl does dissolve Shellac. Plenty of places sell it on ebay. You need the strong stuff. Meths is more readily available though. I've never noticed any problems with the colour and I've been French polishing over 30 years!
BTW I'm seeing a lot more Meths without the purple dye.
The White Polish you refer to is probably a bleached variety made from something called 'bone shellac'. It's a much more refined grade of Shellac, usually used when the objective is to impart very little colour. It's also available in powdered form (rare) but the powder has a very limited shelf life. Button polish has a reputation for being hard wearing although I've yet to see any detailed tests on the various types of Shellac.
Nice Video on shellac production:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQcQ0yuekZ0

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I just looked on evil bay for isopropyl alcohol and was rather amused to see as a related search "faulty guitar amplifier". I had visions of out of their trees rock stars spilling pints of isopropyl alcohol!

 

[nicguthrie]

Thanks for all the tips.

Does anyone have a link for where it's possible to buy Methylated Spirits without the purple dye in it? I'd always thought that it was part of the British standards for the stuff or something, I was not aware that it was even possible to buy it without - much like buying farm diesel without the red dye.

 

[marcros]

Industrial meths. Think you need a license to buy it and good reason to get said license.

 

[MIGNAL]

Sometimes you see it on the shelves of hardware stores. Perhaps old stock where the dye has bleached out. I don't quite know why but I see the clear stuff on a fairly regular basis these days.

 

[marcros]

I am not sure what meths is actually used for these days. It quite probably does sit on shelves for months or longer in a lot of these places.

 

[Matt@]

dont buy shellac based products from hardware shops. they sell it once in a blue moon and it will most probably be degraded! You need to buy from trade suppliers....and it'll be cheaper as well

 

[RogerS]

dont buy shellac based products from hardware shops. they sell it once in a blue moon and it will most probably be degraded! You need to buy from trade suppliers....and it'll be cheaper as well

+1

And also mark up the container with the date of purchase and sling it away after a year and get some more.