I make car shift knobs, finishing them with Behlen Rockhard Table Top Urethane Varnish. It takes days, sometimes weeks, of applying varnish and sanding to get a nice finish. Because it dries so much faster, I can get a good shellac finish much more quickly. My only concern is the heat that can develop in a car. My thought is that, since in the past motor, generator and transformer windings were coated with shellac, heat buildup in a car, even in the south, would not exceed that on a winding. How much heat can shellac tolerate?
Discussion Forum
Get It All!
UNLIMITED Membership is like taking a master class in woodworking for less than $10 a month.
Start Your Free TrialCategories
Discussion Forum
Digital Plans Library
Member exclusive! – Plans for everyone – from beginners to experts – right at your fingertips.
Highlights
-
Shape Your Skills
when you sign up for our emails
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. -
Shop Talk Live Podcast -
Our favorite articles and videos -
E-Learning Courses from Fine Woodworking
-
-
Replies
My guess is that sweaty hands would cause it to be sticky.
“[Deleted]”
I wouldn't use shellac on something that gets all of the extremes of heat, humidity, and handling. It's not especially durable.
If I were making these, I might resin infuse the blanks before turning. There's nothing more durable, and you wouldn't need to finish after turning and polishing.