I have recently watched John Coffey”s French Polishing technique and there is no doubt he is a master in his trade. Here is my question. He uses a Zinsser Sealcoat and refers to it as a blonde mix. I was wondering if you could shed some light on the term “blonde” because I want to follow his recipe exactly as he explains it. Also, I am in Australia so is there an outlet that distributes the Zinsser product at a reasonable price.
Regards,
John.
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The most unrefined shellac is super dark. It can have a lot of impurities in it -- even bits of twigs. It can go through many stages of filtering and refining. The lightest is usually called super blonde. Different sellers have different names, such as amber, garnet, blonde, etc. But they aren't standardized grades.
Sealcoat does have a little color to it. But the big advantage to using it is the natural wax has been removed, and it's ready to go right out of the can. The most blonde shellacs come in dry form and have to be mixed with alcohol to dissolve them.
Thanks for shedding some light on the shellac so it looks like I am after the amber type used in his video presentation. I am in Queensland Australia and sourcing the Zinsser product here is difficult. Any tips on who could distribute it in Australia. Shipping takes 2 - 3 weeks and the cost is expensive through Home Depot. Thanks for the help on this topic.
As John said, Zinser is the brand but it is blond, dewaxed shellac. Art stores here in Canada will carry flakes of all degrees of amber and sometimes premixed with denatured alcool. You will need pure denatured alcool to refresh your pad in the later stages of the polish to get a gloss.
https://www.thewoodworks.com.au/technical-data-sheets/117-french-polish-and-shellac-?gclid=Cj0KCQjwupD4BRD4ARIsABJMmZ976hhx-jV06Qv467zX0wDD4jJXvALPUjCBCxizBZSxWMA7-4lOBmMaAp5bEALw_wcB
Thanks for replying to my question about blonde shellac. I have noticed how to refill the pad with denatured alcohol to get a gloss finish but I am still struggling with purchasing the Zinsser product here in Australia. Can anyone point me to a store within Australia. I will contact Zinsser direct tomorrow at the Australian branch, but sourcing it within Australia is a problem. Can anyone suggest away around this or do I just pay a lot of money for a small quantity for this product plus freight from America.
You would do better to buy dewaxed shellac flakes and mix your own. Mixed shellac has a shelf life, Zinsser claims three years but I would not trust that. I I went to a local paint store last week to pick up a can and their stock was manufactured in 2017 according to the code stamped on the can. Buying long distance, you will have no way of knowing how old the stock is. Because it is flammable, you are right, it will be expensive to ship. The flakes are non toxic and not flammable so shipping should be much cheaper. I also think you will have better luck finding shellac flakes locally. I will paste a link to a good supplier here in the states, he is also a good source of information as well as many videos.
There is also no reason to use blonde flakes. Shellac is naturally dark brown, the blond or super blonde has been refined to remove most of the color, this may be desirable on lighter woods. I work mostly in cherry and other darker woods and prefer the orange shellac for these, is a matter of personal preference-one will work as well as the other. Shellac is a wonderful finish and it can also be brushed or padded on.
http://www.shellacfinishes.com/shop/
Best of luck
Rob
Hi Rob
Thanks for you comment, I have put a lot of work into a dinning room table and six chairs. I will purchase some shellac flakes locally, grind them and take it from here.
Regards,
John in Australia.
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