That's how you do it. We use shellac all the time on antiques that are not exposed to heat or liquids. It gives a beautiful, durable finish. We seem to use a lot of amber shellac --- but you might try both colors.

Cathy

Thanks, Cathy! After I've added more shellac, should I leave it like that, or wax it?

I have used orange shellac, its not that easy to work with though, you must apply it fast, because it dry so fast, I wander if using a little paint thinner would help.....I,m just thinking out loud here, please dont try this without testing it , lol.

I think if it needed to be thinned, I'd use denatured alcohol. I was hoping I could wipe it on, rather than brushing. Or maybe brush it on fast then wipe over it before it dries. I've done stain like that and it worked well.

Hi,
You can easily wipe or "pad" on shellac. If you are using canned shellac, it will need to be thinned with solvent alcohol. I use a pad made from a low-top cotton sock, wet with alcohol and a little shellac, wrapped up in a 1ft. square of very old, soft 100% cotton sheeting. The pad is remoistened from a brush with shellac every few strokes, when it begins to grab. You can build up an amazing amount of finish in a relatively short time this way, and the best advantage is that it is 100% dust-free as soon as it's padded on. So the finish is ready to go. It can't be handled roughly until it is fully cured, which can take a few weeks. (esp. in higher humidity situations) The thing to watch out for is leaving thumbprints in the soft finish. If you use ultra blond shellac, you won't darken the finish any. But if you are after a more antique effect, use my favorite, garnet shellac. These are available from woodworkers supply places online. The best solvent alcohol I've found is "Behkol", for it contains no H2O, the presence of which retards drying of later coats (worst case, it never dries, is always gummy). The Behkol allows the shellac to dry as its applied, allowing up to a hundred thin coats to be laid on in one session.
Caution, though, if you are recoating an old finish. Quite often, the new coat will cause the old to alligator, so fewer coats and a day's drying between is a guard against that happening. If it begins to craze, you're done for the day, lightly sand with 320 before the next round.
Good luck, thanks for reaching for the shellac and not the poly!
Casey

Thanks for all the advice. I'm glad I can wipe it on, rather than brush it. A lot of the old finish had been removed by someone before I got the cabinet, so I went over it last night with denatured alcohol and got some more of it off. In some places it's still shiny, I guess where the layers of shellac were thicker. Do I need to get as much off as possible, or can I put more on top of it? Or should I use 320 sandpaper on those spots? And is denatured alcohol ok to use with the new shellac, or does it have water in it?