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1. 
   RLMillard | Jun 28, 2002 11:43pm | #1

   I put about 6-8 coats of shellac on walnut, except for tops, where I fill the grain and apply 3-4 coats of varnish. I mix my shellac quite thin, but I don’t know what the cut is. I don’t mind a few pores showing on surfaces other than the top, and some area such as carving or reeding, it would be nearly impossible to fill the pores, without a lot of work. Walnut seems to have a much smaller pore structure than the mahogany I use most of the time. For rubbing out, I use to apply all the coats and sand with 400 then 600 grit followed by pumice on 4/0 steel wool with mineral oil as a lubricant, now I apply 4-6 coats and sand with 320- grit, apply 2 more coats and follow as noted above. I have never been happy with a finish that I did not use a rubbing lubricant, as they always seem to be cloudy, I have also noticed this in other peoples work. The rubbing out with the mineral oil is a little messy, but the results are worth the trouble. I clean the oil off, by first wiping as much as I can and I get the rest with warm soapy water. The water will not harm the finish, since shellac is more water-resistant than many people think. Rottenstone will bring up a deeper shine, but your surface has to be nearly perfect or every defect will show. I rarely wax anything other than drawers, because the wax has a tendency to show fingerprints and can look smeary, but this tendency is reduced, when you first clean the finish thoroughly. As a side note, I finish walnut by first dying it orange, then I give it a coat of oil that has been tinted a light brown, and follow this with one or two coats of a dewaxed dark shellac, then blond for the rest.