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Hi!

I begin to mess around with french polished shellac a bit. It's holidays, so I have some free time to try different recipes and make some tests. I have an bass body that I stripped a while ago, and wanted to refinish it with shellac, for fun and for experience. So, I began to make tests with shellac over stain.

First, I try to put few coats of shellac on a waterbase stained piece of curly ash (green...), and polish it. The stain bleeded on my rag, but I didn't find it abormal. Staint didn't seem to be fade, so I let it dry, and begin to polish. And then, more and more, the stain began to go away.

I thought maybe I didn't wait enough to let the stain dry completly. So, I grabbed a piece that I had stained few months ago, and redo the same experience. Same results. The stain began fade on the first coat of shellac.

Maybe an oil-based stain will be better? Or should I use some sealer between the stain and the finish?

Thanks!
Francis

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Francis Richer, Montréal
Les Guitares F&M Guitars

It would probably work if you sprayed light coats on instead of wipe.
James

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

Francis, I agree with James. I don't know what stain you are using, however, I spray shellac over oil stains (I always let them dry a few days) and have good success with it. Seems like you could french polish over a spray coat, or follow the sprayed shellac with just about any varnish or lacquer. I know for certain it'll work with oil varnish, waterborne lacquer and nitro lacquer.