Hi,
I’m new to this group and new to woodworking.
I just built a workbench from Douglas Fir. I will be applying Shellac (ZinsserAmber). I’ve seen a ton of articles on the sanding dos and Donts in between coats, but I can’t find anything on what grits to use before applying the first coat. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! I plan on applying it with some cheese cloth wrapped in an old shirt. I plan on adding Wax on just the workbench top after I’m done w the shellac. Also, I live in California and just discovered that denatured alcohol is illegal to sell/buy, so that’s not an option for me.
Replies
Hello - it's great that you're checking in with a knowledgeable group as you proceed with your woodworking projects. It's a great way to avoid preventable errors and learn from other peoples' experience (and mistakes!). My take on your questions is that you're confusing finishing techniques for furniture with finishing on a workbench.
Shellac is a beautiful finish for lots of furniture styles which won't see heavy wear, water exposure or alcohol exposure. Workbenches usually get pretty heavy wear and can get exposed to all manner of solvents. A well-used workbench gets pretty beat up pretty fast. The surface shouldn't be too precious or too pretty or you won't want to use for all of your work. For a workbench, I would sand to 180 grit and apply either 1) a wipe-on (matte) polyurethane which can be renewed occasionally when the bench gets scuffed up and beat on; or 2) a finishing oil like Danish oil which can also be renewed as you need to.
For furniture finishes, I'd sand to 220 grit before I applied shellac, after raising the grain with distilled water. Even at 220 grit sanding initially, the first coat will still be rough and need sanding to 320 or 400 grit to smooth it out. Subsequent coats should go on very smoothly. As for thinning shellac in California, I have successfully used 91% isopropyl alcohol available at Walgreens without any issues. Don't bother with Everclear or anything available in a California liquor store since they can't sell anything over about 160 proof (80% alcohol). You can buy 100% isopropyl alcohol at Amazon, but it's more expensive than what you can buy locally.
Best of luck on your workbench!
I wouldn't be sanding a work bench at all. Or adding finish. Absolutely not on the top, and never ever wax. The last thing you want is stuff to go sliding around on your benchtop.
Thanks for that advise. I read that the wax will prevent it from slipping, no?
On other non workbench projects what grit would i sand the wood to before adding shellac?
I sand until I cannot see sanding marks . You sand down to where you want the wood to look and feel like (unless you are using oil based stain). I use shellac a lot and on nice pieces, I sand down to 180 or 220 grit with the grain and 1000 on the lathe (across the grain).
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