I just finished refinshing an old table for a co-worker of mine. With some
help from the guys at the local WoodCraft store, we were able to determine
that the exitisting finish was a shellac. The table, they guessed, was
about 100 years old, and was very dirty. Some of the finish had already
been worn away down to almost bare wood. After a lot of elbow grease and
some alcohol, I had as much of the exisitng finish off as I could get. And
in the process, I found that there were inlays in the table that before were
buried under years of build-up.

I put about 4 coats of shellac back on the table, satisfied that I'd done
the best job I could ( my first time with shellac ), and the result was a
very nice looking mahogany table, with inlays in the top, both leaves, the
legs, and the feet. Unfortunately, my friend did not realize that shellac
is supposed to be a pretty high-gloss finish. While she and her husband
love the "new" table, they both would like a finish that's a little more
"dull".

My first choice would be to "dull up" the shiney finish somehow, and make it
a lot less glossy. Will some steel wool do that for me, or is there no way
to take the edge off of a finish like that?

The second option, which I don't like to talk about, is to take off the new
finish, and put something else in instead. I'm assuming that has the
potential of leading to a lot of trouble since, I don't get 100% of the
shellac off, an incompatible finish will bubble, or react in an undesireable
way.

So, I'm looking for options and suggestions.

TIA,
tms

"Tim Schubach" wrote in
:



My first choice would be to "dull up" the shiney finish somehow, and
make it a lot less glossy. Will some steel wool do that for me, or is
there no way to take the edge off of a finish like that?

The second option, which I don't like to talk about, is to take off
the new finish, and put something else in instead. I'm assuming that
has the potential of leading to a lot of trouble since, I don't get
100% of the shellac off, an incompatible finish will bubble, or react
in an undesireable way.

So, I'm looking for options and suggestions.

TIA,
tms

Use 0000 steel wool and wax. Make sure not to cut through on the edges.
You can alsu use a scotch pad. I think maroon or white?
-Matt

"Tim Schubach" wrote in message
...
I just finished refinshing an old table for a co-worker of mine. With
some

0000 steel wool will take the shine down.

p.s. shellac is compatible with just about anything so there's no need
to worry about bubbling, delaminating, etc. Put a nice coat of paste
wax on when you get the finish to the correct sheen (Martin or Charlie)
and you're good to go.

I've had luck toning down the sides of a shellacked cabinet by rubbing out
the piece, by hand, with 0000 steel wool and thinned downed paste wax as a
lubricant. Thin the paste wax with Mineral Spirits enough to make a slurry,
rub out with the steel wool, then buff by hand after the wax hazes over.

While it's worked for me, you might want to try it on a spot that is not
visible before you go hog wild.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 9/21/03


"Tim Schubach" wrote in message

The second option, which I don't like to talk about, is to take off the
new
finish, and put something else in instead. I'm assuming that has the
potential of leading to a lot of trouble since, I don't get 100% of the
shellac off, an incompatible finish will bubble, or react in an
undesireable
way.

So, I'm looking for options and suggestions.

TIA,
tms

Steel wool with water will bring it down to satin and one hell of a feel

Good luck
George
"Tim Schubach" wrote in message
...
I just finished refinshing an old table for a co-worker of mine. With
some
help from the guys at the local WoodCraft store, we were able to determine
that the exitisting finish was a shellac. The table, they guessed, was
about 100 years old, and was very dirty. Some of the finish had already
been worn away down to almost bare wood. After a lot of elbow grease and
some alcohol, I had as much of the exisitng finish off as I could get.
And
in the process, I found that there were inlays in the table that before
were
buried under years of build-up.

I put about 4 coats of shellac back on the table, satisfied that I'd done
the best job I could ( my first time with shellac ), and the result was a
very nice looking mahogany table, with inlays in the top, both leaves, the
legs, and the feet. Unfortunately, my friend did not realize that shellac
is supposed to be a pretty high-gloss finish. While she and her husband
love the "new" table, they both would like a finish that's a little more
"dull".

My first choice would be to "dull up" the shiney finish somehow, and make
it
a lot less glossy. Will some steel wool do that for me, or is there no
way
to take the edge off of a finish like that?

The second option, which I don't like to talk about, is to take off the
new
finish, and put something else in instead. I'm assuming that has the
potential of leading to a lot of trouble since, I don't get 100% of the
shellac off, an incompatible finish will bubble, or react in an
undesireable
way.

So, I'm looking for options and suggestions.

TIA,
tms

You can buy a shellac flatting agent and throw on another coat of
shellac to get a less-than-glossy finish.

I haven't used this product so I can't say how the results would compare
with rubbing out the existing finish. Anyone have first hand experience?

http://www.woodfinishingsupplies.com/shellac_a.htm

Martin

Swingman wrote:
I've had luck toning down the sides of a shellacked cabinet by rubbing out
the piece, by hand, with 0000 steel wool and thinned downed paste wax as a
lubricant. Thin the paste wax with Mineral Spirits enough to make a slurry,
rub out with the steel wool, then buff by hand after the wax hazes over.

While it's worked for me, you might want to try it on a spot that is not
visible before you go hog wild.

Try the steel wool on a test piece of wood, and you'll see it dulls
up quite easily (and almost too quickly). Just by coincidence I
did that today. Whenever I mix up a batch of Shellac or any
other finish I find myself playing with all kinds of scrap wood
thats laying around "just to see" what the finish will look like on
various woods... Today I picked one up and it was way shiny,
so I buffed it with a bit of steel wool and the shine wore off fast.

Shellac is completely repairable too so if you don't like the way
its going you can just redo it.

--
The software said it ran under Windows 98/NT/2000, or better.
So I installed it on Linux...
"Tim Schubach" wrote in message
...
I just finished refinshing an old table for a co-worker of mine. With
some
help from the guys at the local WoodCraft store, we were able to determine
that the exitisting finish was a shellac. The table, they guessed, was
about 100 years old, and was very dirty. Some of the finish had already
been worn away down to almost bare wood. After a lot of elbow grease and
some alcohol, I had as much of the exisitng finish off as I could get.
And
in the process, I found that there were inlays in the table that before
were
buried under years of build-up.

I put about 4 coats of shellac back on the table, satisfied that I'd done
the best job I could ( my first time with shellac ), and the result was a
very nice looking mahogany table, with inlays in the top, both leaves, the
legs, and the feet. Unfortunately, my friend did not realize that shellac
is supposed to be a pretty high-gloss finish. While she and her husband
love the "new" table, they both would like a finish that's a little more
"dull".

My first choice would be to "dull up" the shiney finish somehow, and make
it
a lot less glossy. Will some steel wool do that for me, or is there no
way
to take the edge off of a finish like that?

The second option, which I don't like to talk about, is to take off the
new
finish, and put something else in instead. I'm assuming that has the
potential of leading to a lot of trouble since, I don't get 100% of the
shellac off, an incompatible finish will bubble, or react in an
undesireable
way.

So, I'm looking for options and suggestions.

TIA,
tms