On Thursday, September 17, 2015 at 9:43:17 PM UTC-5, woodchucker wrote:

My son needed a coffee table, and since his apartment is really small, I
figured a cedar chest would serve double purpose.
But since he drinks like a fish (out of college a year and still drinks
like he is in college) I needed to make sure that a spilled drink didn't
run into the chest or ruin the finish. Most of you know my love for
shellac. So I shellaced it, but had to protect the shellac. I coated it
with lacquer as a final 2 coats. Am just waiting for it to harden up to
rub it out. I haven't used lacquer in a long time, and I'm loving the
choice over poly. It just looks better, dries quickly, and I know it
will rub out easily and look great.


Looks great. Good job.

I did lots of projects with ER cedar and always used shellac for the first coats, as a resin blocker. For my projects (possibly not fully air dried stock), the resin had a tendency to leach to the surface, especially where the knots are. The few first projects, I had used spar urethane, before discovering the resin leaching out.

Good work. Your son will no doubt appreciate it.

Sonny