Blonde Shellac on Maple.....I Think

[billw]

Just been digging out some of my old unfinished projects that I really ought to do something with (filing under B being one of them :lol: ) and I realised I had only half applied the finish to a couple of doors.

I'm pretty damned sure I used Liberon's unwaxed blonde shellac to do them - but they're really yellow as the finished v unfinished photo below shows. I was under the impression that blonde shellac wouldn't have anything like this effect so either it does, or that finish isn't shellac in which case I've absolutely zero idea what I used.

Since most of my ideas involve using either wenge or Am black walnut and either sycamore or maple, I'm struggling to figure out what the best finish is to maximise the contrast and bring out the best in each timber.

 

[Peter Capon]

if it is shellac you should be able to get most of it off with clean rags soaked in isopropyl alcohol. leave it for a while then wipe.

 

[profchris]

This is mahogany and maple with blonde shellac finish. The picture ws taken a couple of weeks after applying the finish, so I don't know how much UV light would darken the wood over time. But if your maple hasn't been exposed to much light, I doubt you used blonde shellac.

 

[thetyreman]

it's probably too thick, needs thinning out with alcohol, the premixed stuff often needs thinning, I make mine pretty thin so it can also be used as sanding sealer, more layers of very thin shellac always looks better to me.

 

[billw]

it's probably too thick, needs thinning out with alcohol, the premixed stuff often needs thinning, I make mine pretty thin so it can also be used as sanding sealer, more layers of very thin shellac always looks better to me.

If it's shellac (and I remember mixing some way back which is why I think this is what I used) I mixed the flakes as a 1lb cut so maybe I should try a 1/2lb cut first.

 

[custard]

There's "blonde shellac" and then there's "blonde shellac". Like loads of finishing products there's little in the way of standards or benchmarks. You've just got to hunt around for something that meets your personal requirements.

Incidentally I know plenty of makers who knock themselves out achieving the perfect "water white" finish on Maple, Holly and Sycamore. For example the purple stain in meths is fugitive, so you can leave your meths in a glass jar on a sunny windowsill for a month or two in order to remove any chance of a purple cast on their project. Personally I wouldn't bother, but if you're seized by water white madness then no precaution is too much!

The problem is that the wood itself will yellow in time, so there are practical limits to what you can expect.

If you're determined then I've previously posted on bleaching,

Tone Tech's aqua finishes

and also on Osmo's white tinted range that gives you options varying from perfectly natural to degrees of limed finish.

Good luck!

 

[billw]

Thanks - that 3111 finish looks lovely.