With just shellac I have found the finish to gum up and become uneven. That
is, if you try to work the finish for more than 20 seconds. Try 2 parts
shellac to 1 part mineral oil..... It's basically motorized french polish.
The oil gravitates to the top and lubricates. The shellac migrates to the
bottom. You can keep working it while the shellac sets up. Just wipe off the
oil after the shellac has hardened up.

It will give you a very quick (minutes) very glossy finish (if that's what
you want)

-Steve


"Prometheus" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 14 Feb 2007 19:51:49 -0500, "Dick"
wrote:


I normally spray a finish but on repair work I need something that will
dry
much quicker. I was wondering what most used for a glossy finish on pens
and
such things while spinning on a lathe. I've read some on wax's and such
and
would like to know just what in your opinions work the best.

While I don't know how well it would work on pens, I have got some
fantastic results from applying shellac while a piece is on the lathe
and turning slowly. How fast it dries will depend on the cut, but it
will be fast no matter what- a really thick cut (3lb.- which is how it
comes in the can from the store) will take about 10 minutes to set up
enough to sand and recoat, but a thinner cut will dry much more
quickly. A 1/2 lb cut will be dry almost before you're done applying
it to the entire piece.

I let it continue to spin while drying (again, *slowly*) to prevent
any large drips or runs. Spinning it fast when drying will cause an
orangepeel effect on the surface that you'll need to sand out.

Sand with 320 between each coat, and build it until you're happy with
the finish. To shine it up, I usually burnish with a paper bag at a
reasonably high speed.

You can put wax over the top of that, if you like- though it does not
seem to add much to it if you've really polished the shellac.

There are two downsides to this (always has to be a catch, right?)
First, it's really messy. Cover the ways with some paper towels or
whatever, and make sure you don't care much about what you're wearing.
Second, sanding and burnishing fresh shellac smells like a wet dog.

Another really good thing to note is that you can sand to insanely
fine grits- and while this is more work than it may be worth for a lot
of things, it will start to look like it's made out of glass by about
1500 grit with no finish at all. In that case, a single coat of just
about any top coat will do. Deft is a decent one if you are a fan of
laquer (and it smells better than shellac!)



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