SoHillGuy Loc: Washington

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Hmmm? Some sources say that only oil paint will stick to the shellac and water based paint will not. Also, there is mention of having to dewax the shellac before painting. Would you clarify the method to use further?

SoHillGuy Loc: Washington

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Some sources say that oil paint will stick to shellac but water based paint will not. Also, I have seen a post that says you need to dewax the shellac before painting or remove it. Is this old hat or is there some merit to the information?

Reposted as I didn't see the previous reply I had made.

htbrown Loc: San Francisco Bay Area

I have never had trouble painting with water-based paint over shellac, and you can put shellac over darn near anything. Of course, if I know I'm going to paint, I probably just use the shellac as surface prep. In the case of a glossy shellac finish (multiple coats) then yes, you might have a problem. If you use shellac as a sanding sealer, as I suggested above, the subsequent sanding will remove some of the shellac from the surface anyway. (It will raise the grain, so you will need to sand.)

I don't know how much wax is in a commercial shellac such as Zinsser's. As a very rough rule of thumb, the clearer the shellac, the less wax is in it, so if you're worried about the wax, buy clear. The wax is mostly an issue for items finished mostly with shellac. The more wax in it, the less durable the finish. If the wax concerns you, let the shellac stand and some of the wax will fall to the bottom.

SoHillGuy Loc: Washington

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Thanks for the information. I may give it a pre-trial run on some left-over basswood.