Overheard a guy at the hardware store say he never sands between coats of shellac

I was picking up some denatured alcohol at Ace yesterday and this older guy was telling the clerk he just brushes on his shellac and never sands between coats. He said it 'melts into itself' so it's a waste of time. I've always done a light 320 grit pass between every coat on my pieces. Now I'm wondering if I've been adding an extra hour of work for no real benefit on smaller projects. Has anyone else skipped the sanding step with shellac and gotten a decent finish?

3 comments

3 Comments

jones.nancy2mo ago

My grandpa taught me to use shellac on picture frames and he never sanded between coats either. He'd just do three thin coats with a cheap bristle brush, waiting an hour between each. The finish always looked like glass once it fully cured.

kelly3652mo ago

Ever get a perfect coat like that?

young.kim2mo ago

That old timer at Ace might be onto something. My own experience with shellac on trim work lines up with what jones.nancy said about her grandpa, where it really does flow together. I only sand now if I see a bug or dust nib that needs fixing.