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Hi,

was just wondering how you go about using shellac as a general sealer, just routed my radius dishes(mdf) and thought i'd seal them with shellac, just received an order from lmii today and thought i'd give shellac a go.
a #2cut and brush it on, or would you polish it on with oils and whatnot?

also how long(generally) does a mixed shellac cut stay fresh when bottled?

Thanks,

Frank

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Frank

Frank buddy for jigs and radius dishes I would use a brush to apply your shellac. I always keep a can of Zinnser Seal-Coat (dewaxed) in the shop for applications such as this and I save my flakes..... for guitar finishing. But you certainly can mix your own too.

I think that the Zinnser says it has a 1-2 year shelf life. For MFF (mixed from flakes...) shellac I won't keep it around more then 6 months.

Save the flakes for guitar bodies, and just use the Zinsser's shellac for jigs, with wax or de-waxed it really won't matter which as you are just using it to seal the wood.

Note that MDF will suck up a lot of shellac. Use a brush to apply and just scuff sand between coats (scuff sanding releases the surface tention and will help the shellac to cure faster). 2-3 coats should be plenty.

Zinsser canned shellac has a 3 year shelf life (that's what the can says anyway) and I have a can in my shop which is older than that which I only use for jigs, it still works fine. When using it as a finish on guitars I'd only go 2 years from the date on the bottom of the can just for safty sake.

Mixed shellac has been known to last about 12-18 months if left in a dark, cool place but most recommend not using mixed flakes/alcohol shellac after 6 months.

Basically what Hesh has already said

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Thanks, I wasn't really aware of the mixed/canned stuff. I'm going to mix up test batches of the various flakes i ordered to test on some wood for both color and how it is to work with(might as well seal my jigs and such with it).

sealing rostte/binding channels, do you use the premixed stuff for that to?

Frank

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Frank

Yes - I use Zinnser for things like sealing a top etc. It's very handy premixed and by the way it also is excellent for french polishing too but I cut it to a 1 lb cut for that. It comes out of the can as a 2 lb cut.

Personal opinion: any thing that you want any shellac to deeply sink into the grain like sealing end grain of fixtures and such cut to 1#

makes sense, thanks.

Frank

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Frank

For sealing MDF and such like I always just use yacht varnishing, seals out moisture.

Colin

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