Shellac flakes
Shellac is one of my favorite finishes. It’s clean-smelling, quick and easy to apply, and rubs out beautifully to a gloss finish. It also has the virtue of hardening even over problem surfaces, such as the pitch pockets we sometimes find in cherry or pine.
Finishing Class students are often surprised to learn that shellac is an all-natural finish, and completely safe (if dissolved in food-safe alcohol). In fact, 90% of the shellac coming into the United States goes into the food and pharmaceutical industries, to give a gloss to fruits and vegetables, and to provide a time-delayed release coating on some medicines. People sometimes cringe when I tell them it’s an insect secretion (from the lac bugs of India and Thailand). These bugs suck the sap out of host trees and secrete shellac and wax which covers the tree branches. Under this coating, the insects mature. But if you like honey, you like insect secretions.
I just came across a company called shellac finishes.com which sells shellac flakes and has videos on the mysterious process of French polishing. It’s worth a look. Also worth a look is a video the owner made, showing how shellac is harvested and made into flakes. You can watch it here.
