sploo
Somewhat extinguished member
I've been doing more experiments with the various options. It's difficult to get good shots of finishes (for comparison) as even the slightest difference in angle (reflection/sheen) can give a misleading photo. This shot shows both sides of the same block, DO + shellac on the left and shellac only on the right:
I was lazy with the DO + shellac side; it still has marks from the paper template that was glued to it, and I didn't sand it properly. However, it's definitely got a deeper sheen to the wood; basically, the effect a greasy bacon sarnie has on a paper bag :wink:. The shellac finish alone was slightly less shiny, but probably only because it'd gotten dusty.
Once I'd waxed both sides however (no photo, sorry), the difference was much smaller. The shellac-only does gain some depth, and whilst the DO + shellac is still better, there's probably more variation due to the wood than the difference between the two coatings.
A DO-only sample can be polished to a satin sheen, but still has a slight friction to the touch. With some wax that was good too; maybe close to the shellac + wax, but a little darker.
In short: shellac+wax looks really good. DO+shellac+wax is just a bit better, but a lot more work for only a small visual improvement. DO+wax is probably pointless as the shellac seems to help a lot and is really quick to apply (i.e. if you've done the DO, I'd also add the shellac).
On the image above you might spot lots of small pits from the grain. I have another couple of test blocks where I'm wet sanding with DO, and wiping the slurry across the grain; as per instructions I saw for grain filling. I haven't finished them yet, but on brief inspection I don't think it's making much difference. It's not critical for handles anyway, though probably not acceptable for fine furniture.
I was lazy with the DO + shellac side; it still has marks from the paper template that was glued to it, and I didn't sand it properly. However, it's definitely got a deeper sheen to the wood; basically, the effect a greasy bacon sarnie has on a paper bag :wink:. The shellac finish alone was slightly less shiny, but probably only because it'd gotten dusty.
Once I'd waxed both sides however (no photo, sorry), the difference was much smaller. The shellac-only does gain some depth, and whilst the DO + shellac is still better, there's probably more variation due to the wood than the difference between the two coatings.
A DO-only sample can be polished to a satin sheen, but still has a slight friction to the touch. With some wax that was good too; maybe close to the shellac + wax, but a little darker.
In short: shellac+wax looks really good. DO+shellac+wax is just a bit better, but a lot more work for only a small visual improvement. DO+wax is probably pointless as the shellac seems to help a lot and is really quick to apply (i.e. if you've done the DO, I'd also add the shellac).
On the image above you might spot lots of small pits from the grain. I have another couple of test blocks where I'm wet sanding with DO, and wiping the slurry across the grain; as per instructions I saw for grain filling. I haven't finished them yet, but on brief inspection I don't think it's making much difference. It's not critical for handles anyway, though probably not acceptable for fine furniture.
