couple of questions about UB shellac

I have both UB white and hard shellacs' . When using hard shellac UB website suggests a coat of white first . Since I only mix a little white with metho (at 50/50) for the first coat is it ok to mix the remainder with the hard that I mix up for the subsequent coats ?

Secondly , roughly how long is optimimum time between coats ? I usually go 15-45 mins but have am interested in how long others leave it .

cheers , Bazz

ps: between coats I leave the brush in a jar of metho , should I be cleaning it some other way between coats ?

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Originally Posted by barryr

I have both UB white and hard shellacs' . When using hard shellac UB website suggests a coat of white first . Since I only mix a little white with metho (at 50/50) for the first coat is it ok to mix the remainder with the hard that I mix up for the subsequent coats ?

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I can't see why you'd need to consider this. Just mix what you need - problem solved.

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Originally Posted by barryr

Secondly , roughly how long is optimimum time between coats ? I usually go 15-45 mins but have am interested in how long others leave it .

ps: between coats I leave the brush in a jar of metho , should I be cleaning it some other way between coats ?

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I thin all my coats to 50% and never use a brush, only a soft rag bunched up to a pad. I leave it about 10 minutes between coats, depending on the weather but it dries very quickly. I use EEE polish on the last coat but let that sit for 24 hours before doing that.

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Originally Posted by barryr

ps: between coats I leave the brush in a jar of metho , should I be cleaning it some other way between coats ?

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I use a polishers mop and a small brush and between uses they are suspended over a jar ( using a little jig of course :D ) with metho so that only the tips are suspended in the metho. This will keep them okay and the metho draws out the shellac and keep them moist.

Prior to use I just wipe of the excess metho and it's ready for use and when finished replace them in the jar. Been doing that for over a year and was a tip of my teacher who did this all his life.


Peter.

cheers guys .

quote Gumby : "I can't see why you'd need to consider this. Just mix what you need - problem solved."

Because I'm a scab . No , actually I just figured not to be wasteful even though it's only a small amount and the only difference (as far as I know) is the hard shellac has a catalyst to make it harder . I only mix enough at once to do 1 or 2 snooker cue butts at a time .

thanks for the brush/mop tip Sturdee , sounds good.

ps: I sand then polish with wax after so a perfect brush or mop job is not imperative !

Quote:

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Originally Posted by barryr

Because I'm a scab . No , actually I just figured not to be wasteful even though it's only a small amount and the only difference (as far as I know) is the hard shellac has a catalyst to make it harder . I only mix enough at once to do 1 or 2 snooker cue butts at a time .

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I mix mine into a separate container (an old Shellac plastic bottle) and then squirt a small amount into one of those silver cake holders, like you get for a jam tart :D That way, I just use what I need.

Don't mix the left over white shellac with the hard as you will dilute the proportion of hardner to shellac on the mix and degrade it somewhat.

The mixture of hardner to shellac is pretty exact, adding metho to it won't hurt as this is evaporated off. However adding shellac to it will change the way it is designed to work because you have changed the exacted formula and won't get the same resistance to marking etc.

Cheers - Neil :)

PS So long as you use a glass or plastic container with a lid, your left over 50/50 mix will last for many months without degrading so don't worry about it.

thanks again Gumby and thankyou Neil . Even for a newbie to shellac , it seems a lot easier and more forgiving than poly or acrylic spray lacquer to me !
Once I've cut it back it's a lovely smooth finish with a great feel for a pool cue butt.