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Shelac on walnut, right? Not every body has caught the mosquito spit floor finish recommendations, you know.
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The big mystery to me is, who was the first guy to think that this stuff would make a good finish! Its been around for centuries.
Doug
I want to know the first guy who though that it would be good to coat candy with..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Doug,
Beats me but I have two books here that are not quite 100 yrs. old that mention it as a good, servicable floor finish, so the concept isn't new.
Frenchy's got a good idea, but I don't think shellac is durable enough to be used alone on a floor. The shellac brings out the grain and figure in the wood, certainly. I've got soft maple in my house, of which certain parts (stair treads and landings, and some random pieces) are curly, and they jump right out at you with shellac. It's just as good as oil in bringing out figure.
I'm trying to finish the floors in the house in the next couple of weeks, waiting for a bit of warmer weather to allow some gaps to close up. I've got several gallons of Parks Universal Sealer, which is a basic 2-lb dewaxed shellac, which will go down first, followed by Minwax water-based floor poly. 1 gloss, 1 satin topcoat. I can't imagine a better floor finish that takes less time to work with. Two coats of shellac and a coat of poly is one long day's work, and the final coat goes on the next day and then we let it sit for a couple of days to cure.
you have good luck with the MinWax poly?we put that down on a new floor here and ended up with bubbles after it dried.....I got so pizzed off I sanded it all off !
a real PITA, and then used a Valspar poly
the difference to my wife was night and day since she had applied both of them and couldn't believe the results.
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., wer ist jetzt der Idiot ?
I've gotten bubbles with the Minwax water base poly as well. Maybe the Shellac helps.
ok then but why shellac under the poly.....knots?.
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Shellac under the poly does a couple things (at least that I can see): it pops the grain and figure, much more than if you just used poly alone. Some people don't like that on a floor - I do. Anyway. It also acts as a sealer, lessening absorption of the initial poly coat and generally allowing a smoother surface. You can probably get by with one less coat of poly if used over shellac. Please note - have to use the dewaxed shellac, commonly found as Bullseye/Zinsser Seal Coat, or Parks Universal Sealer (same stuff, Parks is owned by Zinsser and it is exactly the same product). Otherwise if you use the regular Zinsser 3-lb cut 'clear' or 'amber' shellac, the water based poly will not adhere very well, if at all. I have used the SealCoat on every exposed piece of wood in the house except for the timber frame itself (which is unfinished) and in several cases (ceilings) it is the only finish. Doors, windows, stair rails and treads, all get wb poly over the shellac. I don't use stain or dyes, prefer to leave the wood 100% natural color.
sounds good , I hope I remember whats what.
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JonE
Not Durable?
Did you see the gouge made by my 150 pound New Foundland? Shellac holds perfectly, wood gouged!
I've been walking across that floor in my street shoes for 6 months so has everybody in my family.
I've spilt plenty of water on that finish, but since I quickly wipe it up no damage has resulted..
If something happens to most finishes how soon would you have it repaired? With Shellac it could be repaired litterly in minutes..
Every other finish requires sanding and waiting long periods of time..
By the way Poly's are softer than shellac.. test it yourself and see!
Oops, I posted the pictures of the gouge over at Knots, so I'll put it here as well.
I'm just trying to make this thread go away for Me as unread.
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maddog3
Sorry my floor offends you..
Oh ,it's just that this thread keeps popping up as "unread to me"......I apologize for hurting your feelings.
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Maddog3
NO, I'm not offended, I'm sorry that my photo's are causing you problems.. I honestly don't mean to offend.
I'm realtively new to this posting pictures thing so maybe I've done something wrong. If I have tell me and I'll attempt to correct it..
as a matter of fact your post to me had cleared up the problem...I think the glitch is from Prospero and nothing to do with your photos..which BTW are very nice.....:)
so keep posting them OK.
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