Seal Your Project with Dewaxed Shellac
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It is sometimes referred to as “powdered lac” because the wax has been removed. This makes it a pure form of shellac ideal for several types of finishes. When protecting your woodworking projects, you need to use high-quality shellac.
It will produce one of the most beautiful finishes in woodworking. Get complete site access to video workshops, digital plans library, online archive, and more, plus the print magazine. Shellac flakes are dissolved by denatured ethyl alcohol. It's very easy to use and an excellent non-toxic choice for woodworkers. This provides the advantage of being fully compatible with any other kind of finishing products such as Polyurethane, Waterlox, dies etc. This is a good habit to get into before applying any kind of die, varnish, stain, or paint.
Can a Shellac that's Dewaxed Makes Wood Resistant to Water?
This is an incredibly easy and effective way to achieve a certain type of color, but it must be handled carefully. If you focus more on functionality and design than practicality, this shellac can be used as a sealant. However, you need to know that this type of sealant will not completely seal the wood pieces you’re working on. As stated above, though, dewaxed shellac will not make wood waterproof.
I'm definitely with you on WB making some stuff look terrible as compared to solvent based finishes. We almost always hit projects with shellac or lacquer for both grain raise prevention and that most beautiful look that I haven't seen without it under a WB finish. Not that I'm an expert, or that I've tried all brands - I haven't. We clean the solvent based stuff out with lacquer thinner and then clean the gun with warm soapy water before switching guns.
Regular or dewaxed shellac?
Overall, dewaxed shellac is a good type of finish to use for woodworking. It can provide a smooth, glossy surface that protects the wood from scratches and minor damage. Another thing dewaxed can be applied between wood stain layers or finish.

When I have to use products from different suppliers to do a specialty finish, I always do a sample and personally test the hell out of it, especially for adhesion. I have done adhesion tests with lacquer over shellac and I am not impressed. When you use dewaxed and other sealant properties, you can expect to find beautiful and durable wood pieces, and this is an effective way to make your pieces stand out. Then, after it is applied, you can sand it down between layers and then apply a lacquer or polyurethane sealant on top of it to give the more durable sealant properties .
Fine Woodworking Project Guides
Zinsser, after 100 years, has finally introduced their dewaxed Seal Coat Shellac Sanding Sealer. You have finally reached this glorious stage in your woodworking project- you know, the one where it is coming to life, and you can finally see your vision shooting out at you boldly. If you don’t want to use flakes, then the Rust-Oleum Zinsser Quart Bulls Eye Sealcoat Universal Sanding Sealer is specifically made dewaxed. Shellac can be applied with a brush, pad, sprayer, or wiping cloth. It has a super fast dry time, thus saving money and aggravation. Please note that various colors of shellac and die can be mixed to produce millions of various shades.

As with all finishes, it is recommended that samples be created prior to committing an entire project. I think based upon the body of responses, I will continue to use Russ's dewaxed. Based upon his positive experience, my friend will continue to use the stuff out of the can.
Seal Your Project with Dewaxed Shellac
However, choosing the right time for applying these can be a bit overwhelming. Dewax-processed shellac can be used best as a pre-sealant in natural wood grain augmentation. Most types of sealants can’t retain the glow or bold shine that can make a piece stand out.
To prevent this from happening, you can use dewaxed shellac between the layers of wood finish or stain that you are applying. The dewaxed shellac can act as a barrier that prevents the absorption of the stain on certain parts of your project. Then, once you have finished staining your entire project, you can seal the piece with a different, more durable finish like lacquer or polyurethane . Both of these products seal the wood equally well, but some finishes won’t stick to regular shellac. Both amber and clear Bulls Eye shellac have a natural waxy substance that interferes with the adhesion of oil-based polyurethane and water-based finishes. To address that problem, Zinsser created SealCoat, a dewaxed shellac, meaning it has the wax removed.
Many types are available in waxy and dewaxed types. Contributor V, I'm the guy who would use the de-waxed. There's so much money lost on that, it could make you cry.

It also doesn't seem to have the clarity or tone of mixed shellac. The Zinnser product is also more than simply shellac and alcohol - it has additives to extend its shelf life. It brushes and sprays noticeably different from mixed shellac. The only advantage to using Zinnser is that it comes in a can - a ready to use 3lb cut. This is pretty spiffy if you don't use shellac much. It's not better in any other way to mixed shellac.
That’s why you see SealCoat advertised as a “Universal Sanding Sealer” on the can. Interestingly, dewaxed shellac can be used as a highly effective pre-sealant. Many types of sealants used in the woodworking world do not come with bold shine or an ability to retain the glow that can make a woodworking piece stand out. However, dewaxed shellac can bolster the natural wood grain on your project.

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