The wood shellac is one of the most traditional woodworking finishing elements along with the oils andit’s not only a great preservative , but it gives many benefits , to a wood piece .

We can say that the shellac is a “gift” from nature and it can be combined with many other wood finishes , enriching our wood finishing “armory” .

See some of the top natural combinations , in HERE .

It’s a very capable wood finishing and every carpenter should learn some for it and maybe use it more often to his wood projects .

The musical instrument creators know exaclty what i mean , because they use shellac constantly , for their musical instruments finishing .

The wood shellac is a totally natural yellow – blond – orange – brown color resin , secreted from the glands of a female bug in India , having irregular shape when it’s raw , gives high traction between materials , being very resistant to UVs , soluble , providing a tough layer of coating , diluted in alcohol .

We can say that the shellac is a natural , very flexible but strong “natural plastic” type of material – varnish we use in woodworking in many ways .

We can say that the natural shellac is a totally natural , “light polyurethane varnish” for wood .

See some of the best natural & synthetic shellac stuff to get from the markets , HERE .

Is All shellac , from Bugs ?

No it’s not all from bugs , because we have 100% natural shellac created from the glands of the bugs and it has nothing chemical inside its resin mass and there is sytnetic shellac you can have from the markets , with extended properties than the totally natural .

What does shellac , Do to wood ?

Shellac , creates a strong enough( not as polyurethane ) coating above the surface of any wooden surface , sealing it and providing a very warm color to wood , from the range of the light blond – yellow to the more dark shades of brown .

Shellac is a totally natural varnish for wood , giving a very nice glossy color to it , making it more elegant at the eyesight .

It has great friction and “holding” to the wooden surfaces , it’s very resistant to the sun’s UVs and durable enough to the external weather conditions .

Of course as a totally natural elements , it’s more eco friendly and it is a biodegradable . It’s a totally natural resin , which we make it ready for applying when we dilute it with alcohol .

The synthetic shellac is another case and as all the industrial elements , it has extended features , than the natural products .

What is shellac finish , for ?

You can use shellac as your totally last finishing , but you can also use it between your stain coating and it cooperates top with the oil based stains and wax mixtures , paints , et.c .

Shellac is a main base for many oil based wax products .

Can you use shellac , Before painting ?

Even if shellac is used as a final finish and a top coat mostly , you can use it before painting as a primer maybe and a stabilizer .

It’ll give you a nice uniform surface to paint , saving paint quantities at the same time taking advantage of the sealing shellac does to the wood’s pores .

Can you shellac , Over paint ?

Yes , you can shellac over paint and the glossy – uniform coating of the shellac will protect your paint from all the external factors , maintaining the colors and the general looks of your paint , into great condition .

If you use a synthetic shellac , try your shellac and paint to have the same as possible chemical ingredients approach , for better result and looks .

Is shellac a good Primer ?

Yes , shellac( natural or not ) is a first class primer , sealing the wood’s pores with perfect uniformity and the paint – stain or whatever you’ll use , adheres very nice to shellac , making the process , very easy .

How do you Apply shellac to wood ?

There are products in the markets you can apply with a brush ( natural ) , but you can use the padding technique , which is called French polish to fill the wooden surface pores . See this in the below video , from Fabian .

Does shellac make wood , Shiny ?

Yes , it gives a very glossy , shiny and a blondie – “gold” shade and color to wood , which is very good to the eyesight and this is another big advantage of the shellac finishing .

You can have a mixture of light yellow – blond color with shades of orange and gold , which is a very impressive , thing .

Is shellac Water based ?

No , it’s not . It’s a totally natural resin we dilute we alcohol and sometimes , we can enrich it with other resins for more durability , plasticity , et.c .

Of course the synthetic is another case . We can have several types of synthetic shellac formulas , depending the manufacturer .

Is shellac , Laquer based ?

No , the natural it’s not and it doesn’t contain any type of laquer or anything chemical in its 100% pure and natural form , you can find in the woodworking stores .

The synthetic ones , can contain many things inside . The combinations are endless from the manufacturers.

What is better , Laquer or Shellac ?

There are different materials – finishing for wood and the laquers are the evolution of the shellac and they kind of jostle shellac from the woodworking activity , when they appeared in the early 1920’s – 1930’s .

You can compare the synthetic shellac with a laquer , but the natural shellac is another thing , than the industrial laquers .

Is shellac , good as a Final finish ?

Shellac is a first class final finishing choice , for any type of wood and before the 1920’s – 1930’s and the modern times , evolution of the polyurethanes , the laquers , et.c , the woodworkers , used shellac as a very main wood finishing .

Shellac is still used in our days and the musical instrument creators , the use shellac very often . The glossy – warm and excellent uniform result of the shellac finishing , is very beautifull and upgrades any wood plan .

The synthetic shellac is used very often .

Can shellac be used , as a Top coat ?

Yes , it can and this is the main(not only) use of the shellac , providing this glossy – warm – honey shade and color to wood , regardless of what you’ve used as a pre-finishing treatment and regardless the type of wood .

Shellac is more capable to light , more open pores wood , but it can be used to any wood type .

Do you Sand , after shellac ?

Its’ not necessary , but if you like to sand your surface , making it as perfect as you desire , you should be careful and sand super light , with the most light sandpaper .

Is shellac good , for Cabinets ?

Yes , of course it’s a very nice finishing choice for any wood type( even the more expensive ones ) of cabinets and it provides , elite glossiness combined with zero toxicity( natural shellac ) which is crucial , as we’re talking for indoor projects .

Why use shellac , on furniture ?

Usualy , we use natural shellac on our wood furniture when we want to avoid chemical finishings and we want to benefit from the shiny – glossy and very uniform finishing the shellac provides to a wooden surface .

Shellac gives this “donut” glossy uniform finishing to wood , combined with an amazing light yellow – honey – light btown color , which is very impressive .

The synthetic ones have this glossines also , but the natural is better , in my opinion .

Is shellac safe to use Indoors ?

The totally natural shellac is one of the most safe finishing solutions for your indoors finishing , because it has zero toxicity , it’s totally natural , diluted only in alcohol .

Is shellac good for Outdoor use ?

No the natural it’s not , even if it’s a UV resistant element and gives quite strong finishing results , because it’s not so strong as other wood finishings and it has a bigger wear during time .

It’s a totally natural resin diluted with alcohol and the tough weather conditions “torture” it enough . If you want to use it for outdoors , you’ll need re-applying many more times thant other products .

You may need re-applying even 2 -3 times per year and maybe more , for near the sea conditions .

If you choose a synthetic one , you’ll have advanced properties of course .

Will shellac Smell , will go away fast ?

The shellac is a totally natural resin , its smell isn’t harmful and it , goes away fast as soon the alcohol evaporates erasing the alcohol smell very fast , also .

The industrial ones , are different situations and they have smell from the chemicals inside .

Does shellac Dry , straight away ?

The natural shellac , has very sort and fast periods of drying times , and as soon the alcohol it contains in order to be diluted evaporates , the entire shellac finishing dries very soon .

How Long , does shellac take to fully dry ?

Natural shellac is a very fast drying element – finishing , concerning the wood and accordingly , to your general weather conditions , it can fully dry in less than an hour .

Is shellac , a good wood Sealer ?

Yes , the film – crust it creates above the wooden surface , is blocking any external factor , from penetrating inside the wood’s mass .

Of course it’s very vulrenable to the alcohol based elements , because natural shellac is diluted to alcohol , so it cannot protect wood from it . The shellac film is permeable to the alcohol , so in here you should be careful .

The synthetic ones are way more durable .

Is shellac , a good sealer for MDF ?

Surely , it can seal the MDF’s pores and with any other industrial wood type , you should have in mind only that you may need bigger quantities , if the pores – gaps are quite big and wide .

Usually , we use shellac to a more “closed” pores – tight wood types , but it can do excellent job to open pores and a wider density wood .

A couple of extra layers , will do the job .

Is shellac Waterproof ?

It protects wood only for a couple of hours and not for a long or permanent periods of time .The synthetic shellac can have advanced waterproof properties , designed for this case in a primary level .

Is shellac UV resistant ?

The natural shellac is first class natural UV resistant resin – element , in a high level and this is one of the big advantages , it has .

The industrial ones can be more UV resistant , if the manufacturer gives them advanced feature chemical formulas .

What happens , if shellac gets wet ?

If natural shellac gets wet in general the water stays for a long time above it , the coating film will fade and it’ll go from the wooden surface , needing a re-applying shellac coating .

What are the Limitations of shellac ?( natural . )

1) It’s not so strong as the polyurethane finishing films to wood .

2) It’s vulnerable to alcohol .

3) It needs more often re-applying .

4) It’s less strong to hits – scratches , than a polyurethane finishing .

5) If you have allergic themes , you should ask your doctor , for this resin use .

6) It’s not waterproof , for wood . It protects only for a couple of hours .

How Long does wood shellac , last ?

The natural wood shellac isn’t a very long lasting wood finishing and you may need to re-apply it , to your projects , very often , maybe twice a years, if the weather conditons or the use is hard .

The industrial one , is adjustable .

What is the Difference , between Shellac and Varnish ?

Pure natural shellac is a natural varnish , coming from a natural resin diluted in alcohol , giving specific features and protection to wood .

Chemical based varnishes can have extreme speficic features , because they created by humans to have specific properties and do many jobs at the same time , while a natural material has limitations .

Advanced chemistry and our modern times , can provide you with varnishes with abilities , the natural shellac cannot provide .

The polyurethane varnishes are “bulletproof” to weather conditions , while the shellac isn’t and the list of the benefits of a manufactured varnish is endless .

But shellac provides this shiny – glossy – warm – uniform – golden honey color , that maybe a chemical element , cannot reach .

The synthetic shellac is more comparable with the varnishes .

What is the Difference , between Laquer – Shellac – Polyurethane ?

Shellac is a totally natural resin , diluted in alcohol , while the laquers and the polyurethane , aren’t .

The natural products have limitations , while the chemical – factory made products , have limitations adjusted by us , in order to make them more stronger , more flexible , more UV resistant , more easy to apply and the list is endless .

Polyurethane is literally plastic . How can a natural resin win a plastic concerning the durability to time and wear ?

Synthetic shellac products , can be compared with polyurethanes and laquers .

Synthetic or not , i think that the shade – color and warmth of the shellac is something that the polyurethane , varnishes , et.c , cannot reach .

Shellac or Polyurethane , for kitchen cabinets ?

This depends from your appetite , the general result you want to have and if you want to use a natural or a chemical based product .

These two are totally different elements , providing different finishing results . Usually people choose the polyurethanes , because how often are you willing to re-apply a shellac natural finishing and with what cost ?

You can use synthetic shellac and combine the shellac color – warmth , with the more durable advanced chemical formula .

Is shellac Better , than polyurethane ?

There are totally different elements , providing different finishing results and these results have different properties and behavior to time – wear – looks – reapplying needs , et.c .

Polyurethane is a plastic . Natural shellac , is a natural element . How can you win a plastic , concerning the strength in time and tough situations ?

Read and inform the specifications of both elements and accordingly to your needs and appettite , choose what you want .

If you use an industrial shellac , you can be more close to the polyurethane durability and features , but i think that the polyurethanes will always lose , concerning the looks .

Shellac’s color – shade is amazing .

Will shellac , Yellow over time ?

No , it won’t and this natural resin has the ability to stay unchanged to time , concerning the color and the looks of it . It won’t turn yellow and it won’t darken , during time .

The synthetic ones have the features we want , of course .

Is Two coats of shellac enough ?

In here , you should improvise , accordingly to the type of wood you have , if this wood has open pores or not so much and when you’ll be calm and peaceful from the protection you’ll provide .

Usually the two coats , for normal situations , are ok for both , natural or synthetic shellac .

How Many coats of shellac , can i put on ?

This depends from the type of wood you have , the weather conditons and the general conditions , the exact shade and color you want to give to your wood and your personal preferences .

The natural shellac has the big advantage that you may apply as many coats you like , if you want to correct a spot and you won’t have to take off the complete finishing and reapply from the beginning , as a polyurethane needs .

Adjust accordingly , using a synthetic shellac .

How can you tell if the furniture is shellac Finished ?( natural shellac . )

Use a little alcohol to a small spot and if the finishing is dissolve , the finishing is shellac , but you can identify also from the general looks of the furniture . The glossy – shiny – honey color is characteristic opf the shellac finishing .

Shellac is a very nice natural final finishing for your woodworking project and even if the modern times have set it aside a little , the amazing appearance it gives to wood , is making it a very interesting choice for many people .

The shade and color it gives to wood , is unique and in out times , uniqueness isn’t something bad , i suppose .

Keep woodworking and the happiness will join you for sure .