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That time a customer's antique chair taught me to stop rushing shellac
Back in 2018 I was refinishing a Victorian side chair for a lady in Portland. I had a 2 week deadline and tried to speed up my shellac coats by hitting them with a heat gun between layers. Ruined the finish completely. Had to strip it down and start over, lost 4 days. She was real nice about it but I never forgot. Has anyone else learned a hard lesson from a specific piece of furniture?
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sage2861mo ago
I remember reading that heat and shellac never mix the hard way myself.
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campbell.robin6d ago
Did you try the classic "set it and forget it" approach too? I once put a warm pizza box on a shellacked shelf and ended up with a permanent pepperoni grease stain.
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grant.richard1mo ago
Learned that lesson the same way myself, actually. Used to think shellac was pretty tough stuff until I set a hot coffee cup right on a freshly finished table. Watched that finish bubble up and peel off in about ten seconds flat.
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