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![]() ![]() Is Shellac A Good Wood Finish?Īs we mentioned earlier, some really smart people decided that if it was good enough to cover and protect an insect’s larvae, it would be good enough to protect wood from the elements (water and the sun’s UV rays). All shellacs produce a glossy sheen.īut today, we want to talk about shellac in the woodworker’s shop as a finish for wood. This comes in handy when you are trying to match an existing color or repair a piece of furniture. An amber or orange shellac adds richness to walnut and mahogany. Shellac’s natural colors will range from a dark garnet (reddish, the birthstone of January) to dark brown, orange and yellow. The tree from which the lac is taken determines the color of the resulting shellac. It’s actually quite interesting and notes how it takes 300,000 insects to produce 1 kg of lac from which will come the shellac finished product. If you’d like to learn a bit more about where lac comes from and how it is produced, we found a video that will walk you through this process. The dye made from lac also appears in many products, including chewing gum, frozen foods, wine, and jams. Nutritional supplements and coffee beans are also coated with shellac. ![]() If you buy a box of chocolate covered raisins at the movie theater, you’re ingesting the shellac used to coat them. Pharmaceutical companies use it to coat tablets, and cosmetic companies use it to manufacture hairspray. It is possible you have it in your medicine cabinet. Shellac is an excellent finish on furniture, but its use in today’s world does not end there. The resin is dried and processed into flakes that are then dissolved in alcohol to create liquid shellac. Its uses expanded to include dyes, but primarily its use now is to convert it into shellac. Someone figured out long ago, sometime around 1590 in India, that if this resin was good enough to protect the insect’s larvae, it would be good enough to protect wood. What is Shellac? Protective shell + lac = shellac What Are The Disadvantages of Shellac As A Wood Finish?.Despite the drawbacks, a high-gloss finish can give your cabinets and picture frames a touch of luxury and sophistication. ![]() For this reason, it's not always the best choice for high-traffic areas. However, this eye-catching quality also has a downside.Īnd because it's so reflective, it shows every little scratch, scuff, and ding. If you're considering semigloss for flooring, it's best suited for areas with little traffic.Ī high-gloss polyurethane finish is hard to miss - the shiniest and most light-reflective of all the finishes, it catches everyone's attention. However, this also means that scuffs and scratches are more easily visible, and you'll need to spend more time maintaining the finish to keep it looking good. Semi-gloss is more lustrous than satin, meaning that it better reveals the natural beauty of the wood. Satin finishes offer enough sheen for those who find the matte finish quite unappealing but still want a little bit of flatness that can hide marks. ![]() Matte finishes are the least reflective option, and they are often chosen due to their strong ability to hide scratches and blemishes. Each type has its own unique benefits and drawbacks. There are four basic types of polyurethane wood finishes : matte, satin, semi-gloss, and high-gloss. ![]()
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