I need help with a dyed shellac finish

[Tim Sherwood]

I am having a problem with spraying a dyed shellac. The finish looks like it has fish eye. But I can't think of any possible contamination . I milled down some soft white pine. I sanded it to 180 and vacuumed the surface. I sprayed two coats of 1 1/2 lb sealcoat shellac. To tint the wood I mixed some fresh flakes to about a 1 lb cut. I added Transtint liquid dye. I used the same gun and settings as I used with the clear sealcoat. It is an Acuspray HVLP conversion gun using about 5 pounds pressure. I tried a reduced spray volume, then an increased pressure. Not much difference. Anyone have any other ideas I might try?

 

[Berta]

Did you put car wax on your table saw, or any tools?

 

[bowman]

Try spraying on a different wood, such as maple. It could be the resin in the pine affecting the outcome.

 

[Tim Sherwood]

Hi Berta. I do use paste wax on the saw. If that was the problem, I would have expected it to show up when I sprayed the first coat of clear shellac. This soft pine is not resinous at al. I'm doubting that the problem is really fisheye. It just looks similar. It's more likely a type of orange peel. In any case I suspect it's my spraying technique .

 

[Berta]

I was just checking. When I worked at KraftMaid, we had a list of products we could not use. Waxes, hand lotions, etc.

 

[golfdad]

Did you spray inside or outside?

 

[chris_goris]

Your fisheye could be caused by puddling, try lighter , faster coats. Whenever Im spraying on tinting, I do it lightly and layer it, your dye intensity can be very high, but you only use a little. Also, I rarely tint shellac, rather use denatured alcohol. I will typically initially seal the wood with shellac. I find its much easier to control the color this way. Many times, I use a spray bottle with my alcohol/dye mixture and just pump spray the color exactly (and lightly) where I need it. Dont be afraid to wipe it to smooth either as long as its with the grain. Hope this helps

 

[Wilsoncb]

The good news is the color looks great.

 

[Tim Sherwood]

Dirk, I'm spraying indoors with a nearby fan in a window. I don't think there's any contamination from the air.
Chris, you may be on to something. I did seal the wood with shellac first. This white pine was way too blotchy without that. But I was trying to spray the tinted shellac at the same rate as I did the clear. I'll lighten up and see if that helps. Thanks.

 

[Tim Sherwood]

Chris you got right to the heart of my problem. I was trying to spray the dyed shellac at the same rate as clear . I cut the liquid flow rate in half and the "puddling" was greatly reduced. That means 4 light coats instead of 2 heavy ones to achieve the color I'm looking for. Thanks for the insight.

 

[chris_goris]

Chris you got right to the heart of my problem. I was trying to spray the dyed shellac at the same rate as clear . I cut the liquid flow rate in half and the "puddling" was greatly reduced. That means 4 light coats instead of 2 heavy ones to achieve the color I'm looking for. Thanks for the insight.

Glad I could help! And as I mentioned, its much easier to sneak up on your desired color this way and or darken areas more than others, like sapwood.