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Sealer on top of Shellac

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2.9K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  epicfail48  
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#1 ·
I am resurfacing a bar top in a restaurant. This is a do-it-yourself job, so we have made some mistakes along the way. I am hoping to get some advice before I go any further.

The bar top we have put in is made of pine. It's been stained with a coffee ground/vinegar/steel wool application. It was finished with a coat of Zinsser Bulls Eye Sheelac Finish and Sealer. This is where I've run into my question.

After putting on the Zinsser coat, I learned that there are compatibility issues with adding a sealer on top of shellac. The plan was to put either a Urethane/Polyurethane or Varnish on top of the shellac to seal up the bar tightly. We want to keep spills and such from ruining everything.

So, to the question: What is the best way to seal up this bar? Can I use the varnish or varathane? I tried a small bit of varnish on a sample and it seemed to bubble a bit. Should I just heap on several coats of shellac? Will that last in a commercial application? Is there a strong sealer that I can use effectively?

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
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#2 ·
If you are using old fashion varnish and not polyurethane you can put varnish directly over standard shellac.

Zinsser Sealcoat is a sealer and also is shellac. Since they are basically the same thing it would make the best sealer to make the transition from shellac to polyurethane. If you are brushing the finish brush it real fast. The alcohol in the sealcoat will lift the wax out of the shellac and mix it with the sealcoat. It would be better sprayed.

Sealcoat is shellac that has had the natural wax filtered out. It is known as a de-waxed shellac.
 
#3 ·
It depends on the type of shellac you used. If you used zinser seal coat, that's a dewaxed shellac, and you can put anything you want on top of it. Seriously, that stuff is a universal sealer. However, if you used the zinser stuff in the yellow or orange can, you used a waxed shellac. Honestly, you can probably put anything you want over that too without issue, but ive seen people claim that the wax content causes adhesion problems. Honestly, ive never tested.

If you did accidentally use a waxed shellac, good news! Shellac is easy to strip, just wipe it off with alcohol
 
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