Nitro sanding sealer - shellac on top of that - bad idea?

Title says it all, really.

I have a nice pine body, have nitro sanding sealer on it, and I'd like to put a couple of coats of shellac on top of that, mainly for color.
Didn't want to put the shellac straight on the pine, because it was very hard on a test scrap piece of pine to get it on there without it getting blotchy and uneven.

Could this turn out bad later?

It's hard to get an even color with shellac. You will get better results and no issues if you use a tinted lacquer. I'm sure it's been done before but you might have problems with trapped solvents from the lacquer if you apply shellac over it.

you might have problems with trapped solvents from the lacquer if you apply shellac over it.
That's exactly what I was afraid of. Thanks!

Lacquer over shellac= absolutely !!

Shellac over lacquer= never !! Shellac is a GREAT sealer,Fender use to brush on shellac then sand it smooth(prep for lacquer)before Fuller O'brien invented the liquid plastic called Fullerplast.This liquid plastic dried super super fast and real flat and smooth witout grain filling on the new standard use Alder bodies and hardly any required for the ash bodies enabling Nitro lacquer to be sprayed over it the same day..YES vintage Fender guitars were(after the use of shellac)encased in plastic,then sprayed with Nitro lacquer because in was the fastest,easiest and more importantly the cheapest way to get a FAST yet pretty finish.

It's hard to get an even color with shellac. You will get better results and no issues if you use a tinted lacquer. I'm sure it's been done before but you might have problems with trapped solvents from the lacquer if you apply shellac over it.

Like Shepherd said...shellac is often used as a sealer before other finishes. So to apply it over a solvent based finish would prevent the solvents from gassing off.

As an experienced woodworker I use Shellac more than any other finish due to its ease of application. More often than not I wipe it on using a base coat of non-wax Shellac sealer followed by a few coats of amber or clear Shellac rubbing out with 320 Scotch Brite Pads (white) between coats. Depending on the project I use either a durable wax or a wipe on water based Poly for the final coat. I use at least 3 coats of both wax and Poly buffing between coats of wax and applying the Poly on top of each coat with no buffing between coats.

I am presently working on a Strat kit my son gave me and am using the Shellac-Poly method as described above and so far looks very nice after 3 coats of Shellac. The body is made of solid Empress wood and has an interesting grain pattern which prompted me to go with Shellac and Poly rather than paint. Once finished I will post pics of the guitar.

As an experienced woodworker I use Shellac more than any other finish due to its ease of application. More often than not I wipe it on using a base coat of non-wax Shellac sealer followed by a few coats of amber or clear Shellac rubbing out with 320 Scotch Brite Pads (white) between coats. Depending on the project I use either a durable wax or a wipe on water based Poly for the final coat. I use at least 3 coats of both wax and Poly buffing between coats of wax and applying the Poly on top of each coat with no buffing between coats.

I am presently working on a Strat kit my son gave me and am using the Shellac-Poly method as described above and so far looks very nice after 3 coats of Shellac. The body is made of solid Empress wood and has an interesting grain pattern which prompted me to go with Shellac and Poly rather than paint. Once finished I will post pics of the guitar.


You have given me some really good ideas to finish an unfinished neck on an Ibanez (please see my other thread).

My question to you is, what brand of kit did your son get, and where? I would like to build a Tele with a bridge humbucker in Ash, and don't really know where to start.

Thanks,
C.R.GTR

You have given me some really good ideas to finish an unfinished neck on an Ibanez (please see my other thread).

My question to you is, what brand of kit did your son get, and where? I would like to build a Tele with a bridge humbucker in Ash, and don't really know where to start.

Thanks,
C.R.GTR

The kit is from Reid and Son and he probably got it off Ebay though I am not sure. Google Reid & Son to see their lineup of guitar kits and to my knowledge they sell direct for the same price as on Ebay. The neck is Maple with a Rosewood fret board, a loaded pick guard, tremolo bridge and everything else needed to build a playable guitar once finished.

One other thing you need to be aware of, The headstock has to be sawed to the proper shape as it is squared off on both sides and the top. I have a set of full size plans for a Strat so I copied the headstock diagram on card stock, cut it out and traced around it, used my jig saw to cut it out not quite to the line then finish sanded it with a half inch diameter drum sander.

Actually I would say the kit will make a nice guitar but for the cost I am sure the pickups and pots are low quality even though overall the parts don't really look cheap. I decided yesterday I am going to paint mine black with gold flecks, install all gold parts, place it in a shadow box and hang it on my shop wall. That way it will be like many merchants do with the first dollar they made, frame it and hang it on the wall for all to see.

I'd agree that getting an even coloration could be difficult when applying shellac over sealed wood, and second the suggestion of using a spray on toner.

Getting shellac to go on evenly is actually easier when applying it to bare wood.

Never had a problem applying shellac over lacquer sanding sealer. The OP's original premise of being able to get an even color is a good one - the sealer keeps the shellac from soaking directly into the grain, which as with oil stains or anything else applied to bare wood makes the color hard to control. Seal with lacquer sanding sealer, then apply your shellac, keeping alcohol nearby in case you need to adjust the color with a light wipe of alcohol on an area going dark on you.

As you've found, practice this on scrap first - always practice on scrap; it's never a good idea to try something new on an actual instrument.

Shellac *is* q bit more forgiving as far as color/penetration than stains or dyes, but sealer=some level of control while no sealer=very little control.

Thanks a bunch folks, I appreciate all the advice!

Never had a problem applying shellac over lacquer sanding sealer. The OP's original premise of being able to get an even color is a good one - the sealer keeps the shellac from soaking directly into the grain, which as with oil stains or anything else applied to bare wood makes the color hard to control. Seal with lacquer sanding sealer, then apply your shellac, keeping alcohol nearby in case you need to adjust the color with a light wipe of alcohol on an area going dark on you.

As you've found, practice this on scrap first - always practice on scrap; it's never a good idea to try something new on an actual instrument.

Shellac *is* q bit more forgiving as far as color/penetration than stains or dyes, but sealer=some level of control while no sealer=very little control.

I can see where you are coming from, but my experience is almost exactly opposite. When applying shellac to a sealed surface the common problem is overlap, leading to dark patches that are then very difficult to correct due to the fast flash and downright stickiness of shellac.

The controlling factor when applying shellac direct to bare wood is surface saturation. Yes, you can still get overlap, but since this overlap is obviously on the surface of the wood, it is a bit easier to remove/blend away.

My experience with using shellac is that troubles always start (and only worsen) with the second or subsequent coats.

But I also find shellac to be one of those products that is very technique dependent, and different people can easily have different experiences with the stuff.