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Need advice on finishing woods to coordinate....

17 years ago

I'm building a cabin/vacation home and need to finish the trim and exposed beams to coordinate with the laminate flooring I just decided on. (Armstrong Smoked Oak)

I was originally going to pick a much warmer floor, but now I need to go cooler/ash tones. I have already put a sealer coat of #2 clear shellac on some of the solid beams (doug fir?) and they are pretty orange. On the ceiling is a glue-lam ridge beam that is unfinished, the interior of my windows are unfinished VG fir, and the doors I just bought are unfinished red oak veneer. Window and door casings have not been bought yet. I need to find something to tie everything together, and tone down the red/orange tones of the existing wood. The floors have a smoky/bronze cast which I love. I'm not trying to get everything to match, but just coordinate and not clash. Luckily the floors have a range of colors which I hope will give some flexibility.

I was thinking of trying some dark garnet shellac on the doors and windows but it may be difficult as a beginner. Do I need to remove the thin coat of clear shellac from the beams first? Should I try to tint clear shellac with dye instead of the dark garnet?

I just love the finish shellac gives. DH thinks I'm crazy and should just get some mission oak or walnut stain and covet it with poly. I like the idea of buying shellac flakes and doing it the "old fahioned" way.

I'd appreciate any advice from shellac fans out there.

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Comments (4)

sombreuil_mongrel
17 years ago
Hi,
another shellac fan here. Garnet won't do anything but make the fir redder. It is a darker shade than orange shellac. I don't know what to say. Maybe use ultra blond and add a little black aniline dye to get a grey tone. Or use green dye to negate the red of the fir. With dyes, everything is possible. Transfast powders can go right into shellac, and most liquid dyes too, but read label or ask the salesman.
If you have a woodcraft store in your area, you're all set.
After the colored coats, put on three coats of non-tinted stuff, then apply wax with 3/0 steel wool. You won't believe what a great-feeling satiny finish you'll get that way.
Casey
lindac
17 years ago
I also like shellac.
I finished an oak rocker with shellac over a "fruitwood" stain. Way too orange! so I rubbed it with a transparent blue glaze which toned down the orange and then slapped on another coat of shellac.
Don't be afraid to use stains over the shellac to get the color you want...just be careful not to use water based or laquer based stains with shellac.
Linda C
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cal_dreamer
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks for the info! Unfortunately the closest Woodcraft store is down in Orange County, and the thought of fighting the freeway traffic makes me ill.

I found the attached website that carries some pretty tints, and I may order the transtint dye in dark mission brown and play with adding it to clear shellac in different proportions and see what happens. Maybe a little black, too. With enough samples, I should get it right before I try it on the doors and windows!

Is there any problem with using the Zinsser clear shellac? I can pick it up at Lowe's easily. I thought I read in an article that there is an issue with the small amount of wax in the zinsser product, but I can't remember where I read it or what the issue was. I could order flakes or the pre-mixed concentrate if it would be better.

Now I just need some time off work to practice.

Here is a link that might be useful: Homestead Finishing
sombreuil_mongrel
17 years ago
You can use canned clear shellac. If there is a layer of cloudy stuff at the bottom, don't stir it! that's the wax. If it got shaken in transit it'll settle out in less than a week. Use only the perfectly clear upper strata to stay wax-free.
Casey

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