How to achieve this look - shellac?

[petermwright]

I posted a while back about a build I'm planning - a tribute to Sting's '62 (or it could be '63) Jazz. The conclusion was that Sting refinished the body himself using shellac. I'm now planning my build, and I want to achieve as close to this look as I can (starting with an unfinished body). I'm reasonably comfortable using nitro, but have never used shellac. From what I'm reading, it is easy to apply, but not necessarily very durable. I'm also not sure, if I were to use shellac, which one to use to get this colour - there seem to be different colours available. Alternatively, I could probably achieve a similar colour to this using amber nitro (which I already have).

Any recommendations about the relative merits of these (or any other) finishes would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Turnaround]

I have a couple of instruments that I finished in shellac. It dissolves in alcohol and it will turn whitish if water is allowed to sit on it.. However the white spots are easily corrected by padding with alcohol. And you can refresh a worn shellac finish easily - just clean off any dirt and apply a new coat. Touch ups are also easily done. Do not use white or bleached shellac, only amber or garnet shellac. For the look you are after I recommend amber. My preference is make up my own shellac from flakes.

 

[petermwright]

I have a couple of instruments that I finished in shellac. It dissolves in alcohol and it will turn whitish if water is allowed to sit on it.. However the white spots are easily corrected by padding with alcohol. And you can refresh a worn shellac finish easily - just clean off any dirt and apply a new coat. Touch ups are also easily done. Do not use white or bleached shellac, only amber or garnet shellac. For the look you are after I recommend amber. My preference is make up my own shellac from flakes.

Many thanks. Do you think I’d be looking at a large number of coats to achieve that colour?

 

[bherman]

Many thanks. Do you think I’d be looking at a large number of coats to achieve that colour?

I use shellac quite a bit on furniture projects, it’s very easy to use and forgiving to work with. Just remember to sand lightly in between coats and wipe off the dust. And no, it really doesn’t take more than three coats to get a good finish.

 

[HardNHeavy]

i'd sand the bass to bare wood and give it just a few coats of tru-oil.

 

[jimmydean]

Try Mimwax Pre-Stain and seal with Rustoleum clear (matte , gloss , semi ) , just stripped a PB and finished that way .

 

[byacey]

You can use aniline dyes or Transtint to add color to shellac.

 

[boxerrider]

Lots of information here. You can probably find a supplier more local to you.
Wood Finish Supply / Shellac.net - MeritIndustries.com | Page 1 of 1

Enjoy!

 

[BassikBrad]

IME, restoring antique furniture & several basses, I concluded that Shellac produces a superior grain definition than any other finish,
& as previously stated, is easy to repair. Amber is best.

 

[Turnaround]

Many thanks. Do you think I’d be looking at a large number of coats to achieve that colour?

Depends on the wood.

First I would prep the wood with a wash of ammonia water to act as a mordant. Allow to dry and knock down the standing fibres with sharp fine sandpaper. Then a light wash of colour - analine dye in water - and again knock down any raised grain. Then I'd give it 3 coats of shellac.

If it's an open grain wood like ash, I would consider using some grain filler after the ammonia treatment.

 

[petermwright]

Depends on the wood.

First I would prep the wood with a wash of ammonia water to act as a mordant. Allow to dry and knock down the standing fibres with sharp fine sandpaper. Then a light wash of colour - analine dye in water - and again knock down any raised grain. Then I'd give it 3 coats of shellac.

If it's an open grain wood like ash, I would consider using some grain filler after the ammonia treatment.

Thanks - and thanks all for your replies.

I should have said, the wood will likely be alder. I'd definitely rather not be dealing with grain filler again.

Analine dye - I didn't know about that step. Is that important for the colour? Does the shellac itself not provide that?

 

[KidAmnesia]

I have a couple of instruments that I finished in shellac. It dissolves in alcohol and it will turn whitish if water is allowed to sit on it.. However the white spots are easily corrected by padding with alcohol. And you can refresh a worn shellac finish easily - just clean off any dirt and apply a new coat. Touch ups are also easily done. Do not use white or bleached shellac, only amber or garnet shellac. For the look you are after I recommend amber. My preference is make up my own shellac from flakes.

How are you applying the shellac?

My last project was a classical guitar that I tried to french polish and I don't think it got less than fifty coats to get an even glossy finish.

 

[rickwrench]

Analine dye - I didn't know about that step. Is that important for the colour? Does the shellac itself not provide that?

I'd doubt very much if the young punk version of Sting did a full on labor intensive french polish job with dissolved flake (or button) shellac.
It seems much more likely he would have either padded on a few heavy coats right out of the can, called it good, or, picked up a few Zinsser spray bombs and hosed it down.
If you want a bit more durable finish, give it a few coats of lacquer right over the top of the shellac.

 

[Turnaround]

If you want a bit more durable finish, give it a few coats of lacquer right over the top of the shellac.

If you are going to apply lacquer over the shellac, use de-waxed shellac.

 

[Novarocker]

Many thanks. Do you think I’d be looking at a large number of coats to achieve that colour?

I'll second/third/whatever the using Shellac and few coats. Love how it wears too. I stripped a jazz bass of mine and did that to both the neck and body. The neck I think I mixed shellac and alcohol 50/50 to get fast drying thin layers. Used super fine steel wool to smooth it if I remember right. Been about 12 years and I abused that bass, still kicking no problem. Alder MIM jazz, '91 IIRC.

 

[Turnaround]

Analine dye - I didn't know about that step. Is that important for the colour? Does the shellac itself not provide that?

You probably do’t need the dye on alder. But I’d do the amonia wash anyway. If you get a greenish tint after the ammonia (sometimes occurs), apply dilute dye or a wash of linseed oil diluted with mineral spirits. I applied the finish with a brush, sanding lightly between coats and finished it off with a pad that had a few of drops of dilute shellac and a drop of boiled linseed oil.

Shellac starts to dry very quickly and can be tricky when brushing to avoid streaks. The trick is to lay it down in even strokes and DO NOT go back over any spot. It may look patchy after the first cost, but do’t worry - it gets better with successive coats.

 

[petermwright]

I'd doubt very much if the young punk version of Sting did a full on labor intensive french polish job with dissolved flake (or button) shellac.
It seems much more likely he would have either padded on a few heavy coats right out of the can, called it good, or, picked up a few Zinsser spray bombs and hosed it down.
If you want a bit more durable finish, give it a few coats of lacquer right over the top of the shellac.

Whilst Sting was very much not punk in the era he did that refinish (more jazz fusion), I tend to agree about the job, it’s hard to imagine that he didn’t just put on a few coats from a can or whatever and be done with it.

 

[Novarocker]

Whilst Sting was very much not punk in the era he did that refinish (more jazz fusion), I tend to agree about the job, it’s hard to imagine that he didn’t just put on a few coats from a can or whatever and be done with it.

Agreed, it's not like he'd been refinishing guitars for years. Possibly his first time, only ever painting a fence, wall, or the like before.

 

[Stylee Mousse]

Get de waxed shellac flakes and mix it with everclear. Denatured alcohol can have ugly stuff in it.

I did an entire vintage trailer interior that I rebuilt.

 

[byacey]

You probably do’t need the dye on alder. But I’d do the amonia wash anyway. If you get a greenish tint after the ammonia (sometimes occurs), apply dilute dye or a wash of linseed oil diluted with mineral spirits. I applied the finish with a brush, sanding lightly between coats and finished it off with a pad that had a few of drops of dilute shellac and a drop of boiled linseed oil.

Shellac starts to dry very quickly and can be tricky when brushing to avoid streaks. The trick is to lay it down in even strokes and DO NOT go back over any spot. It may look patchy after the first cost, but do’t worry - it gets better with successive coats.

You can slow down the drying a little, and improve brushabiliyy of shellac by adding a few drops of lavender /spike oil into the shellac.