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How many coats of Waterlox needed over Shellac

10 years ago

I posted this in the flooring forum, but I haven't gotten a response and figure that the builders around here might have some experience.

I installed unfinished walnut flooring throughout my entire house (except full baths and laundry). My plan is to put 2 - 3 coats of shellac on the floor then to put a final coat of Waterlox Original satin finish.

I prefer the look of the Shellac (garnet from flakes), but want to add better water durability. Is one coat of Waterlox going to be enough with the undercoats of Shellac?

I already put down 2 coats of shellac at more than 2 pound cuts, so it has a good film already built up.

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Comments (5)

User
10 years ago
The correct answer is ... NONE!

Waterlox is meant to go on bare, sanded wood. I don't know what it would do on top of shellac, but I doubt it would have the intended effect.

http://woodworkstuff.net/shellac2.html may have useful information for you
LawPaw
Original Author
10 years ago
Waterlox is a varnish. The company may market it's "absorption", but at the end of the day it is still a varnish and primarily a film.

I know that it is compatible with dewaxed shellac and that shellac is often used as a basecoat for waterlox. My question is whether one finish coat of waterlox is enough to protect the shellac basecoats with waterlox.

I have a sufficient shellac base to protect the floor.
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Actually, the waterlox will probably adhere better to my dewaxed shellac than it will to my character walnut since it will seal away the oils in the wood. The manufacturer recommends using a coat of shellac before applying waterlox on rosewood and other highly oily woods. Anything adheres well to dewaxed shellac.
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I did our Waterlox countertop several years ago and found that much of the streaking that initially panicked me disappeared as it cured. Waterlox does take a LOT longer to set up than other finishes and if you've done several coats, each one seems to take longer. I left fans running in our kitchen for about a week with three coats. To avoid fibers, I used a lambswool applicator and used it on something else first to get any stray hairs out. If you use a cotton rag, definitely put it into pantyhose. For other finish projects, I've moved to microfoam rollers--foam brushes leave streak marks. I think with WL, one thick coat laid on in one straight application (no rubbing, touching up or blending) and left to sit for three days is probably your best bet.
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0000 steel wool and wax should work fine as long as you go very easy and don't cut thru the shellac .Shellac does not have a lot of build.Be very careful on corners. Or you could topcoat it with something else with a flattening agent in it but would probably not get the results you want without a lot of experimenting.
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cardinal94
10 years ago
Have you called waterlox? I just called them last week. They were very nice and helpful.
Circus Peanut
10 years ago
I did my old doug fir floors with 2 coats of sprayed amber shellac, then two coats of mopped Waterlox (original). Worked very well and held up even in the bathroom. No pix on hand at the moment, but the color was rich and the film build durable. I can dig up some photos if desired.

Only caveat: the new low VOC Waterlox formula may have improved this, but the stink was really very bad, quite penetrating enough to drive us out for 2 days.
LawPaw
Original Author
10 years ago
Flint2013, I did call Waterlox, they were not at all helpful or friendly. Their phone rep kept telling me that I should use waterlox as the sealant and all layers. When pressed why his response was only that it is "the best sealer on the market." My attempts to convince him that I wanted to use garnet shellac because I like the look didn't phaze him.

Then he was trying to convince me that waterlox anchors into the wood fibers creating a better seal through all the coats. Not exactly an accurate description of how oil based varnishes work.

I tried pressing him on how well the 1mm dried coat performs on a purely resin base, but all I got was marketing. Not helpful to what I actually wanted or was looking for. If I hadn't already started with the waterlox, I would have considered returning it and using Bona Traffic based on how demeaning the guy was on the phone.

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