Hi Gang,
I've been working on some mahogany cabinetry and experimenting with
finishing the scraps. I decided that I want to use shellac so most of my
work has been in learning to fill and pad the stuff. Now I've got my
technique down and the test piece has some nice coats of garnet shellac.
The consistency, depth and clarity are great. But, the color is not really
what I expected. I've read on the wreck that it should have a nice red
color, but it looks more like orange than red to me. It definitely looks
more red on the non-finished side. Should I plan to leave the pieces out
in the sun for a day after sanding but before finishing? Or keep adding
more layers of garnet? Or use some chemical? Or use a dye in the shellac
or on the filled wood? Oh, I mixed the garnet from fresh de-waked flakes.


You'll be happy to hear that I have ordered the 2 finishing books that
everyone recommends but it will take a week for them to arrive.

Thanks!
-Matt