Finishing Question

[Jeff H (Guest)]

Can I apply shellac over a fresh polyurethane finish? I assume it should be lightly sanded before the shellac is added, but will the alochol raise the polyurethane?

[TDHofstetter (Guest)]

Are you sure you want to do this? Apply shellac over fresh poly? I can't quite get my head around the idea behind it.

[Jeff H (Guest)]

I am trying to cheat a little. It takes so many coats of shellac to build up a deep looking finish. My idea is to apply three coats of poly and then wet sand smooth. Then apply two or three coats of shellac, hoping to get the results with out the amount of work.

I guess I should just try it on some scrap. If it works, I will let you know.

[Lou_williams]

In the amount of time it takes to put on 3 coats of poly you could put down 15 to 20 coats of shellac. Shellac dries in just a few mins. Poly takes hours between coats. Shellac can be used below or above almost any finish, but I can't think of any good reasons to use Poly.