Mixing Shellacs

Hi everyone,

This is probably mostly directed to Neil but please chip in. Im finishing Mando #1. The top is King Billy Pine so I thought Hard Shellac, easy. The back, sides, neck etc are Fijian plantation mahogony which could do with some more colour although the flame is really out there. So I thought shellac flakes to darken it up a smidge and perhaps a final couple of coats of Hard Shellac to give it some strength.

My concern is the final coat of Hard Shellac, will it crack or craze? or should I consider some hardening oil (eg BLO) in the flake Shellac?

Sebastiaan

Why not do the parts you want to slightly darken with BLO, let it dry then use same shellac all over?

According to what I've read, using undiluted BLO will also help to make the figure "pop".

Cruzi's idea sounds good , but test a bit on an offcut to check colour.
and will the shellac stick to BLO? I know it sticks to almost anything but?
Could i suggest cheating a teeny bit, and using a diluted stain on the mahogany, just to help it along:)
I dont like fully changing the natural colour of timber myself, but I do coax the colour out a bit somtimes.
The hard scellac shouldnt craze over the coloured shellac. as long as the undercoat is fully dry and both are about the same viscosity?
The only prob you might have is the tinted shellac moving under the top coat, so work fast.

Astrid:)

I would use the BLO to "pop the grain" because, BLO has its own color, and once dry, it is not only a good sealer, but an excellent base , because it is a reactive coating and will accept most other coatings.

MacS