On Nov 23, 1:01*pm, tiredofspam nospam.nospam.com wrote:

Reading your info, you appear to have a lot of experience.
What I don't understand is what am I doing wrong if I shoot with shellac
successfully with an hvlp *gun. I don't have a problem cleaning.
Just throw alcohol thru, open the valves to throw a lot of alcohol thru
and your done. I don't use brushes to clean, I just run it through. When
I reload it melts any light coating that might be there.

So what am I doing wrong?

Obviously, if it all works for you, nothing. End results of finishing
are subjective, and if you are happy with your results and method of
application, don't change anything.

FOR ME, shellac didn't get it done. I am not sure if I spray too long
(literally spraying out a quart cup before stopping), or of when
spraying cabinets the blowback didn't contribute to my unsuccessful
attempts. Maybe it was all of that.

I did that when I thought priming was necessary. Now I spot prime
only, and use the finish material as a primer and top coat as
recommended by better finishers than me. No problems since.

That doesn't mean I am not still puzzled and annoyed by my lack of
ability to solve the problem. To me, I should be able to spray a
solid 30 minutes and blow out a couple of quarts before I have to
worry about any material's behavior.

I have seen Karl's work ( da Swinger ) up close and personal, and his
quality of work and and scope of projects are just about as good as it
gets. He is the shellac master, no doubt. His projects (and Leon's
too, by the way) tell their own story of their mastery of wood craft
and finishing. Karl has long been a fan of bug spit, way back to
O'Deen's days here.

But, me and shellac don't see eye to eye anyway. I tend to think in
commercial terms, and that means hard finishes that don't need any
kind of maintenance. Shellac isn't abrasion resistant, is provides no
color protection, it isn't cleanable except with a damp rag, it isn't
heat resistant, and provides little water resistance.

While many tout its ability for easy repair if damaged, it won't be
so easy if you are using a tinted shellac, shellac that is naturally
colored (orange, amber, etc.) or shellac over stain. Shellac will
bond with the stain in most cases, and pull up the color with the
finish. Good luck matching that! Of course, clear shellac is a snap
to repair unless it is on some old antique which you shouldn't be
refinishing anyway.

Seriously, there aren't many hard fast rules to finishing. I have
said it before and will repeat it, most folks learn finishing by
folklore. They will try something traded in idle conversation with
someone at Woodcraft on a Saturday sale before they will sit down and
research out the process for themselves.

So if your processes and materials are working and you like your end
result, don't change. You have reached the goal!

Robert