What are the advantages and disadvantages of shellac wood paint?

advantage

Shellac can enhance the natural beauty of wood

Shellac is easy to apply

Shellac dries quickly, so it can be applied several layers a day

shortcoming

Shellac only provides high gloss (but can be passivated with 0000 steel velvet)

Alcohol can remove shellac

Shellac is not as durable as other finishes, but it is easy to repair

Where can shellac be used?

Jim said shellac is a good material for decorating heirlooms and jewelry boxes. He reminded us to be careful when choosing shellac as the finish of some items, because it can be removed by alcohol.

In other words, shellac may not be the best decoration for tables with wine. If any alcohol splashes onto the table, the paint will be removed.

How to apply shellac

Jim shared with us that shellac can be easily applied to our wood project. It can be applied with a rag or brush, and shellac can also be sprayed with a spray.

The denatured alcohol in shellac evaporates quickly, so we can apply several layers in a day. Jim said that each new layer of shellac will "erode" the previous paint layer, which means that we do not need to polish between the paint layers. (I should pay attention to the instructions on my shellac can, which says to polish with 220 grit sandpaper between the coatings.)
One reason why we may need shellac is that if we find a defect (drip, dirt, etc.) in the completion.

How long do you have to wait to apply shellac?

Shellac dries quickly, so we only need to wait about an hour to make it dry between two layers. Many times they can't work for an hour.

How many layers of shellac should you apply?

Two or three thin layers of shellac will usually give our DIY project the appearance we want.

Can you apply shellac on the stain?

Shellac can be applied to bare wood or stains. We should wait 24 to 48 hours to let the stain dry before applying shellac.

Can shellac be used as primer?

Jim said shellac can be used to make seal skin for wood, but he reminded us to be careful. He said that when we use shellac as primer, sealant or between different types of surface paints (paint, polyurethane, etc.), we must use dewaxed shellac.

He told us that shellac itself contains wax. Paint, lacquerware, polyurethane, etc. shall not be stained with wax. Jim said that once the dewaxed shellac dried, we could put anything we wanted on it.

Shellac based white pigmented primer is also available. Zinser BIN primer is very suitable for sealing wood and knots. Slide to how to stop the knot from bleeding through the paint and see how I seal the knot in my wood project.

How to remove shellac?

As we discussed before, shellac is made of denatured alcohol and is very sensitive to alcohol. Alcohol can remove shellac.
Final idea

Shellac is a natural finishing agent that has been used for thousands of years. The color range of shellac ranges from garnet to clear and enhance the natural beauty of wood. Shellac is easy to apply with a rag, paint brush or spray.