A question regarding shellac and buffing

Wax over shellac is common and often will produce a better final gloss finish. I often use a micro crystalline over shellac or mix my shellac in beeswax before application.

Check if your compounds are foodsafe. Carnauba wax is, I don't know about the others, a quick web check implies tripoli and diamond are foodsafe. Verify before using on kitchen objects.

You can buff shellac, but it does start to get sticky at around 175 F, so don't press!

Not that a buff will outdo a French Polish and spiriting, but if you apply and level, you could just buff for smooth. I polish in my waste time, so I would rather do that.

I don't normally use shellac as a finish only as a sanding sealer when I plan to apply spray on gloss lacquer. My choice for bowls, especially bowls for use in the kitchen, is Walnut oil. You can buy it in the grocery store in the cooking oil department. Most stores carry various oils and one of them is Walnut oil. It takes a few days for it to dry after application. When dry, you can buff it to a nice shine with the Beall System and you'll know that you have a food safe finish. The Walnut oil soaks into the wood and brings out the grain and color of the wood very well.

I don't like to simply buff the bowl without some sort of finish, although the carnuba wax for the last coat of the buff is somewhat of a finish.

If you and your wife likes shiney, then you purchased the proper tool to get that shiney finish. The Beall system is a great buffing system.

Fred Holder

The only buffing I do over a topcoat, and I've never tried shellac, is the wax wheel... Most finishes can be shined and protected a bit with the wax..

Experiment a bit with Danish oil.. preferably natural, and buffing with the whole system.. It's not as "instant gratification" as your shellac because it takes a few days to cure, but for non-oily woods it really makes a nice look and feel..

One of my mentors uses thinned sanding sealer and buffs that, because the drying time is shorter than oil, but I like the look and penetration of the Danish oil... YMMW

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

for shellac I do a very thin coats at the end. The last couple coats can be wet sanded with oil and a wet dry sandpaper. The last bit I use a cotton cloth an pumice with oil and hand polish.

if I buff only the white and then the wax and very light touch. Give it a few days to dry. the problem with shellac is that it can hide bubbles of solvent under the surface that can blister out. I once had a jewelry box blister in my car on a warm day. I had just finished it polished and buffed to a perfect finish then I left it in the car for 10 minutes. The heat of a buffing wheel could do the same

mac davis wrote:

Kevin have you ever tried polymerized tung oil for a shiny finish ?? I'd recommend you try that one at least ones, it goes on easy and is renewed easy if needed. Does not take long for curing, is tough and shiny and can be buffed to more so. Go to the Lee Valley site and look under finishes, you can there then read the product and use info. I'm not for shiny but have used the polymerized tung oil for just that, and it's a real winner IMO. Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

I would like to thank all for their responses. I note that I prefer a finish much less shiny than the wife; indeed, I appreciate more of a smooth matte finish with depth. I have noticed that in reading this group for what, 7 or 8 years now, that it seems the longer one has been making bowls, the less their preference for a shiny finish. Perhaps this is a result of coming around to appreciating the beauty in the wood itself. I will at times be at my lathe with a bowl attached slowly hand turning it watching the interplay between light and grain. How what appears to be a dark bit will suddenly blossom into a bright bit of beauty as the light hits the grain at a slightly different angle. Maybe this is what happens to all of us. We see the beauty and then wonder, 'Hey, this is good enough as is. Anymore futzin' with it may destry what has been revealed.' Anyways, enough with the musings and thanks again.