Shellac

[Orde02]

Hello.

Can anyone advise me on how to apply shellac to a frame? Brush it one? Use a pad?

Any help appreciated

Matt

[Not your average framer]

That depends upon what you are using it for. If you are just sealing bare wood wood, before applying a different finish over the sealed wood, then you would more than likely just brush it on, followed a while later by a light sandpapering. If you are doing a proper french polished shellac finish, the old school way of doing this would be with a folded pad filled with wadding called a rubber. You can find the tradition method to make a rubber in the following book.

This is my favorite book of wood finishing and is "The Complete Manual of Wood Finishing" by Frederick Oughton, which is well worth looking for an older copy of. Don't bother getting the newer version which has been edited and updated by somebody else, which is list as written br Frederick Oughton and somebody else. The original book shows the traditional way of doing things, but the new has some emphasis of more modern methods and materials. The old is better.

[poliopete]

On a small project such as a picture frame I always use a brush. If it was a French polishing project I would use a pad as Mark suggests.

I cut/dilute the shellac with meths. Recently I have purchased a couple of "one stroke" brushes strongly recommended on here, as yet I have not used them buy I will be trying them out shortly.

Peter.

[poliopete]

Sorry, that should read "but" and not buy

[vintage frames]

I agree with everything said before. If you're applying shellac to a picture frame then all you need is the best quality brush you can afford. Jackson's Art have a good range and the ones to go for are 1" or 3/4" One Stroke. Unless you have the skills of a master finisher, it's stupid to use anything cheaper. Ask a picture framer if he prefers to buy his glass cutters from B&Q.
Always dilute shellac 50/50 with meths and apply thinly. Ignore all the button, white, garnet varieties and just buy Transparent Polish. The others are only used in transparent french polishing applications. If you use wire wool, buy the 00 as opposed to 0000 which is only used for polishing. Use it to cut back between coats but don't "lean in" too much, just let the wire wool do the work.

[prospero]

The results you get using Shellac on a frame depends a lot on the wood. Nice dense woods like Oak and Ash will
take a nice finish, as do the more exotic woods like Walnut. Obeche/Ayous are a different matter. Much harder work
and the results look a bit rough.

The first HF frames I did were stained Ramin with about 5/6 coats of Shellac, wirewoolled and waxed. They looked
really classy. That was when you could get bare Ramin mouldings. The same mouldings in Obeche were only suitable
for painting.

[Not your average framer]

I have not made up my own ready to use shellac, for quite a long time. However you can still buy all the materials directly and make your own if that is your want. The company which comes to mind for me is W. S Jenkins, who used to be somewhere in the greater London area. Personally I can't be bothered to make up my own when a bottle of ready made shellac sanding sealer, or french polish is so easily obtained at a very reasonable cost.

I have a 250ml bottle of shellac sanding sealer in my shop, to which I have added a small teaspoonful of danish oil. Danish oil mixes with the sellac sanding sealer very easily and avoids the need to wax the shallac after it has dried, because the danish oil makes the shellac waterproof and stops any bloom forming on the shellac in damp atmospheres.

Any more danish oil and the finish won't set for days. As many forum members probably already know, I'm into quick, simple, easy and foolproof, so I won't surprise you to know that I brush this shallac and danish oil mix on and set it straight away with a hot air gun and then cut and join the frame moulding to make the frame immediately afterwards mostly for some of my quick, easy and fast mouldings from small bare wood mouldings.

[Orde02]

Thanks for all the relies. I don't think my £1.99 brush helped me in anyway... Still, it's a learning curve.


Matt