Finishes – Part 1

2016.6.19

The primary finish will be shellac.  I bought flakes from Shellac Shack and mixed up platina (aka super blonde) and garnet.  Then I finished some offcuts of the alder and cherry, starting with platina and then two or three coats of garnet.

Garnet and platina shellac
Testing shellac on alder and cherry

Well, the cherry’s not very inspiring, and rather beige-y all-in-all.  And the alder sure is on the yellow side of orange…

2016.6.21

So with some trepidation, I decided to use a dye, which I’ve never done before.  I bought some TransTint called “Reddish Brown” and diluted it in water per the instructions (scaled down to a pint).  I flipped the test pieces over and applied the dye, then the coats of shellac.  Hm, I think this will look better.  Hope I like it over an entire tabletop…

Applying dye to alder
Testing dye and shellac combination on alder and cherry

2016.6.26

I started with the underside of the top.  I felt like I was applying the dye more heavily on these large surfaces where I had to keep re-dipping the rag and making multiple passes to cover.  I wonder how much that’s going to change the end result compared to the test?

Preparing to apply dye and shellac to underside of top
Dye drying on underside of top

I masked the tabletop and then went through the rounds of shellac on the battens.  After that dried, I reversed the masking and worked on the tabletop itself.  The masking probably seems like overkill, but I have no delusions about my poor finishing skills and wanted to reduce the opportunities for drips and sags.

Applying shellac to battens
Applying shellac to underside of top