Finishing with Shellac
2013.11.18
I set up the first nightstand on painters pyramids on the sawbenches. The pyramids would make it easier to brush all the way down the legs, which seemed like a good idea. Unfortunately, it was a precarious perch, and little time passed before I bumped a sawbench and my hard work met the hard concrete floor.
Sigh. Not much that could be done about that. I sanded the damage so it was not so rough, and continued finishing, without the pyramids.
I started with a coat of platina, then began applying coats of orange. I let each coat dry a couple hours, then lightly sanded with 1000-grit paper or synthetic steel wool.
After the first coat of platina, there were three or four coats of orange, and another coat of platina. In this shot, you can see the difference in color between finished and unfinished, although not the best lighting for comparison.
2013.11.24
With the wait between coats and various interruptions, the finishing progressed over a few days. The relatively thin one-pound cut was a good idea, because even at that I sometimes laid it on too thick and had to deal with drips and sags. They can sometimes be sanded out, or dissolved enough to brush out. My primary concern was the tops, so I put the most effort into fixing mistakes there as in the photo below. I finished the drawer fronts separately on the workbench.
Mixing Shellac