Couple finishing questions
 

1) I have a can of General Finishes Arm-R-Seal (oil/varnish) that was
1/3rd full that filmed over on me. Is it okay to use the remaining
finish or should I trash it? What symptoms should I look for in a
test piece?

2) Is it okay to use the Arm-R-Seal over a shellac sealer coat? I've
got an issue where I tried to use an oil based ebony stain on actual
ebony because it had some ugly light brown spots in it. The stain
covered the spots, but when I put on the Arm-R-Seal they came back
somewhat. I'm not exactly sure what's happening there, but I'm
guessing the stain is not penetrating and the finish is redissolving
it making a translucent black finish. You can't see the spots under
normal lighting, but under direct light they are quite noticeable. I
would just do a shellac finish but it's a jewelry box destined for a
teenage girl and I don't think it would hold up.


-Leuf