using Shellac

[NOTABIKER]

second rifle i used shellac on. i do not claim to be a wood worker or painter. i started my re do on my SKS with dark stain. i wiped it off real good in about 10 minutes. the next day i steel wooled it and started to put a thin coat of Tung oil on it. the stain started coming off on the pad i was using. panic time. i started over and used the Shellac you can get at home depot. i like it because it goes on nice and it is dry enough to 0000 steel wool in about 2 hrs. after 2 coats i will steel wool it to smooth it out and take some of the gloss off it. if you want it to look like a custom deer rifle do not bother. if you just want it to look like a nice surplus rifle and protect the wood it works.

[Alex$]

You do not need to sand or wool between shellac coats. Very thin coat, wait 30 minutes and apply another thin coat until you get the desired look. Wait 24-48 hours to set and buff off the shine.

[SanPedroShooter]

You could wax it. Wax and shellac is a modern substitute for what they used to call 'French polish'

I am a finisher and painter, I have to constantly remind myself to not get carried away.

Shellac and wax is nice though.

[Father Ted]

Also shellac that you mid yourself from flakes is much nicer and has different tones. I'm a woodworker and I usually apply two thin coats then lightly buff with synthetic steel wool, then repeat until desired effect is achieved. The buffing is mostly to get anything out that may have settled in it. Then wax.
Cheers

[SanPedroShooter]

Indeed. Flake shellac is a somewhat different animal than the Zinnzer shellac from the hardware store.

[NOTABIKER]

thanks for the input, i already did a Mosin with good results. so it is ok to wax shellac.

[SanPedroShooter]

When it drys hard, sure.

Thing about wax is you cant finish over it and you cant really sand it off. You can remove it with solvent though.

Just something to keep in mind. When it needs touching up, or gets dull apply more wax. Easy, like a piece of furniture....

Wax is something of a poor finish in general, especially on firearms, but it looks nice in a thin buffed out coat. I don't think its commonly applied to firearms, in fact I am pretty sure its not, but I like waxing things.

Might be better to stay with shellac only.

[Alan Block]

Propper shellac is the shells of lac beetles that have bee flaked and disolved in Ethanol alchohol. If you get it at the wood working store it comes with a jar of flakes and a tax stamped bottle of alchohol. When you apply it the alchohol evaporates and leaves a coating of lac beetle shell. Its a fragile finish that will water stain and wear quickly under hand use.

[Alex$]

Close, but shellac is actually the excretions from a lac bug not their shells.

Wax over shellac is nice and holds pretty well on guns. It can be water damaged, (think white rings on tables, the reason we have coasters), but it is easily repaired with alcohol. Wax makes the shellac waterproof.

Yes, the commercially prepared shellac in the big box stores is better than nothing, but if you want a quality finish mix your own from flake or button.

[Guisan]

This is the way shellac was applied to the post-war beech K31's...

http://theswissriflesdotcommessageboard.yuku.com/topic/10847/master/1/

[SanPedroShooter]

^^ That is very close to the original time consuming and labor intensive French polish technique.

Typical Swiss attention to detail.

[zhyla]

French polish is really not that time consuming. It just takes a bit of practice and little bit of don't-give-a-hoot to do it fast. It's my favorite finish method.