r/Luthier • u/Dylonious_Pickle94 • 1d ago

HELP Best Method of Applying Shellac?

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Just practiced applying shellac on an older neck and I love how vibrant it is! I did a 50/50 mix of shellac and denatured alcohol. It’s a bit runny, although I made sure to ring it out more on the 4th coat. Once it dries, I’ll start applying polyurethane on it, but does anyone have advice on the best way to apply shellac on an entire neck?

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u/coffeefuelsme 1d ago

I love shellac, it’s not super durable but man is it a forgiving finish. Generally for woodworking projects with a large surface area, I’m using a brush but I prefer wiping it on with a pad with guitars.

You can make a pad by making a pouch out of a lint free rag, stuff some cotton in there and tie off the top. Dip your pad in the shellac and wipe on, when it sticks that means add more shellac to the pad.

You can also brush on but it’s more likely to pool or leave brush lines you’ll need to sand out.

Since you’re using it as a sealer, I wouldn’t go all out and French polish it. Just apply with the rag and rough sand before applying poly.

Hope that’s helpful, good luck on your project.

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u/Dylonious_Pickle94 1d ago

When I applied it, I noticed it ran and got onto the fretboard. I wanted to apply it to the back of the neck and the front separately. If I were to do it all together, I thought I’d hang the neck on a wire coat hanger.

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u/coffeefuelsme 23h ago

If it were me, I would just tape off the fretboard when you do the neck and then tape off the neck when you do the board.

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u/Dylonious_Pickle94 23h ago

Any particular type you’d recommend?

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u/coffeefuelsme 23h ago

Great question, 3M or Scotch delicate surfaces tape, regular masking tape has too strong of a tack and can leave residue on the shellac. Be sure the shellac is fully dried and not soft before taping up.

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u/Glum_Meat2649 20h ago

Shellac is a great finish for many things. I would not recommend using it anywhere alcohol might be spilled on it and not cleaned up immediately. Without adding a different top coat.

Shellac is alcohol soluble, each additional layer melts into the prior.

No idea by what you mean by 50-50 by volume or weight? Or a 50% cut (aka a half pound cut).

I one pound cut, is one pound of shellac in a gallon of DNA (denatured alcohol). I will typically use a half pound cut of blond shellac as a sanding sealer. Quite a number of finishes will stick to shellac. So putting something more protective over it is usually not a problem.

An additional use for shellac is to use it in between incompatible finishes. Both of the incompatible finishes will bond to shellac.

It’s generally not a good idea to use it around alcohol based dyes. It will case them to run.

If you need to remove it from somewhere (without sanding it off) use DNA, to melt it, and clean that up. Rinse and repeat until it’s nearly gone. Fine sand any raised grain.