Shellac as a Sealer? – Viewer Question
This week’s question from from Ron in Chicago who writes:
I have a table top that I stained with oil based stain and I want to use Endro Precat Lacquer but the directions say that I have to use a pre-cat sealer. Can I use a 1LB cut shellac as a seal coat or do I have to buy the special pre-cat sealer?
And here is my response:
Hey Ron. It is nearly always a safer bet going with the sealer recommended by the manufacturer. But, that doesn’t mean you have to. It also doesn’t mean you will get bad results using shellac as a sealer. Shellac really is like a universal binder. I like to think of it as a “clean slate”. A nice light coat of dewaxed shellac is a suitable sealer coat for pretty much any finish. I have used shellac as a sealer for pre-cat lacquer many times with great results.
Just to be safe, it’s always a good idea when trying some new combination, to test adhesion. Get a sample board, give it the sealer coat, then try the enduro finish. Let it completely dry and test for adhesion. You can do a few things for this. Try scraping it off with your fingernail. Then try putting tape on the surface and see if the top layer comes up when you pull the tape off. If either happens, the finish did not adhere properly and the shellac isn’t a good option for that topcoat. I have yet to see that happen though. Good luck!
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Good Answer. I’ve always heard that a coat of shellac or even a spit coat (5 to 1 ratio) shellac to alcohol is compatible with anything. I got this info from Furniture to Go way back when on HGTv.
Interesting answer Marc,
I’d never heard of those tricks to test adhesion.
Here’s one tip on using tape to do a finish adhesion test. Add a little bit of a contrasting color to your finish before coating the sample board. (I typically use a red dye.) Firmly press the tape to the finish to get good contact. A “J” roller works great for this. Then pull the tape off in one swift action. If you see any red on the tape then the finish adhesion is unacceptable. Remember – do this only on your sample board and not on your project.