Shellac under laquer

[Rick Lindstrom]

I'll be starting the finish on a new instrument soon, and am attracted to the low toxicity of shellac as a finish material, but am not too crazy about its durability as a final finish.

So, what I'm wondering is if there is anything wrong with the idea of building up the majority of the finish film with shellac and then shooting 3-4 coats of laquer over that as a final finish. Presumably if I've built up enough shellac and have gotten it sanded flat, the thin lacquer coat wouldn't need much sanding before polishing, and there wouldn't be too great of a risk of burn through.

Would there be any need for a vinyl or nitro sealer coat between the shellac and the final nitro coats? I guess I should mention that I don't intend to use any water based materials.

Thanks-

Rick

[Jim Rowland]

Nitro over shellac usually works fine.
Jim

[buddyellis]

Alot of eastmans are finished this way, from what I gather (lacquer over varnish)

I am arguing with myself as to whether to try this with my latest, but havn't gotten that far yet.

-b

[arbarnhart]

Just make sure it is dewaxed shellac like BullsEye SealCoat (that's a premix).

[Dale Ludewig]

You should be just fine. If you're using SealCoat, make sure it's going over nothing else. I've had some unpleasant experiences. But, dewaxed shellac is good. Shellac in general, from my experience (30 years) is a wonderful thing. It seals out silicone, by and large, as well as other stuff we don't want to deal with.

Lacquer will lay down fine on it. My concern would be that you make sure your shellac is thinned or sanded such that it is smooth before you start laying lacquer over it. Shellac can tend to be a bit on the "orange peel" side of things if you're not careful. That will transfer into the top coats.

[testore]

why is there so much concern about shellac as a final finish? Bullseye shellac is premade and ,as all shellacs,it has a shelf life. MAKE YOUR OWN.It's easy to do and the end result is better. The laquered instruments I've seen get dinged just like any other instrument but varnish is way easier to fix than laquer.

[Bill Halsey]

Indeed.