On 21 Jan 2004 17:16:33 -0800, (Patrick Olguin)
wrote:

snip of shellacky hagiography (yeah, I know the term is broadly
abused)

Damned fine post, as usual, O'Deener.

But hell, ain't nitro lacquer an agriculturally based commodity in
some sense. It's based on cotton. If the South had come up with
nitro lacquer, they mighta gone places, back in the day.

I like nitro lacquer. I know it's nasty and kills yer brain but it's
a pretty predictable finish, once ya get used to it.

The only thing that I can see in shellacky's favor is the tactile
quality. I can polish up a properly cured nitro finish that is more
clear than the most blonde of blonde shellacs but I can't get the
feel.

(must be dat low molecular weight thing)

I think that shellacky is a better wipe on finish than nitro, even
when when you use the right solvents to slow down the drying.

I think that nitro has greater clarity.

The interesting thing for a nitro user to fess up to is that the water
based stuff is even more clear than nitro - but it looks too clear -
go figure.

I can't even adequately explain the above sentence but nitro has just
the proper ambering, to my eye.

I reckon it's what yer used to looking at and for.

If I didn't have a lot of money tied up in explosion proof fans and
such, I'd be more ready to be a shellacky guy but, having spent my
professional life trying to get **** out the door in the fastest and
bestest way possible, I'd have to go with nitro as my finsih of choice
for fine furnishings.

I know, this is a religious issue; most perfeshunnul cabinet guys have
long since switched to finishes other than either shellacky or nitro -
maybe I just like nitro because I'm on the third standard deviation of
the learning curve.




Thomas J. Watson-Cabinetmaker (ret)
Real Email is: tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet
Website: http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1