"Clear, Color, Clear"
Craftsmen using shellac often keep in mind the words 'clear, color, clear'. Even though they may want to apply a darker shade of shellac to complement the wood being finished, they will start with a clearer shade, perhaps Super Blonde, then apply several coats of the desired darker shade, and finally topcoat it with the clearer shade.
The first coat of 'clear' fills in the very small checks and defects in the wood so that when the 'color' is applied, there is no blotching and the grain of the wood shows through crisp and clean. This is easily evident in small pored woods like maple as well as softwoods like pine and fir.
The desired 'Color ' is the applied, usually no more than 3 coats of a 2 pound cut as the darker shades of shellac like garnet, ruby, and sometimes even orange will begin to streak after several coats are applied, especially over light colored woods.
'Clear' is used again as a topcoat to build up the desired depth of finish.
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Terms and Conditions
Because the quality of shellac flakes is affected by moisture, and we cannot control the care with which it is handled and stored after it has reached the customer, we limit our guarantee to 50 days - 7 weeks from the date of shipping.
Shellac Shack recommends that you keep the zip-lock bag sealed and that you store the flakes in a low humidity area. Some folks like to keep their flakes in the refridgerator where the humidity is low. This will also keep the flakes from blocking ( sticking together ) on hot summer days, although blocking will not damage the quality of shellac flakes. It's good to remember that on warm humid day there is much more water in the air ( per volume ) than on a cool rainy day.
If you have any questions, please give us a call.
