First, I am a new woodworker and really new in attempting to apply a fine finish to my completed work. I have just completed a crib built of Cherry. I believe I want to apply a Shellac finish because of it’s notoxicity. I watched your video regarding refinishing the table that you stripped with Shellac. I missed what kind of dye you used to darken the Shellac, it was a medium brown “………….”. Also, what type of pad were you using to rub down the Shellac in step 4?
You varnished the flat surfaces of the table to make them more durable? What would you suggest I do to finish the crib keeping in mind the safety issue of the finish?
Replies
Hi Kent,
To tint my shellac in the video I used a medium brown trans tint dye available at Homestead Finishing Products. It is very concentrated, a little goes a LONG way.
To make my pad I use a high grade cheesecloth as the core and then wrap it with a fine linen like cloth.
You can also use medical cotton as the core. You can buy it at any medical supply house.
The main goal when using a pad is to have no wrinkles in the face of the pad. Once you get the touch with a pad you'll be surprised at how well they work and how quickly you can put a finish on. The biggest mistake you'll make at the start is having it too wet. When you squeeze the pad you'll want to see it is wet but not dripping.
Personally I would just use the shellac as your finish. There is really no need to use a varnish here. The varnish I did on the table top was for durability over time to drinks, abrasion etc.
You'll be just fine with shellac on the crib.
Good luck.
Peter
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