Shellac is a warm wood surface paint that can be easily applied with a rag, brush or spray. It dries very fast, so it can be painted several layers a day.

Shellac is a natural finishing agent that has been used for thousands of years. The color range of shellac is from garnet to transparent, which enhances the natural beauty of wood.

Have you participated in the carpentry exhibition hosted by The woodworking Show? This is a good place to check new tools and watch tool demonstrations, but they also provide some amazing woodworking courses, including tickets.

Recently, I participated in a carpentry exhibition and participated in the "Choose the right completion" course hosted by Jim Healy. On The Woodworking Show website, it said: "Jim has been a carpenter for more than 30 years and has been a special craftsman and educator of WOOD magazine since 1997."

Jim shared with the class valuable information about the use of penetrating oil, shellac, paint and polyurethane. I want to share with you my experience of using shellac in wood projects.

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What is shellac?

At the beginning of his speech, Jim shared with us that shellac is a natural surface paint that has been used for thousands of years. Shellac is a film-forming paint, so it is protected by forming a film on the surface of our wood project.

We also learned that shellac is an evaporative finishing agent. In other words, it dries because the mixture of denatured alcohol and shellac evaporates into the air, leaving shellac behind.

How is shellac made?

As Jim mentioned earlier, shellac is a natural finishing agent. Shellac is made from the "cocoon" of lac beetle. Scrape the cocoon by hand, cook it, and lay it into sheets to dry.

When the sheets are dry, they break into thin pieces. Then mix the flakes with denatured alcohol, which is the mixture we apply to the wood project.

Shellac can be bought in sheets.

You can also buy premixed with denatured alcohol.

What color is shellac?

Shellac has a warm color, which enhances the natural beauty of wood. The colors of shellac are pomegranate, amber and transparent. Jim said shellac would turn black with time. (I want to remind you that the shellac can in my studio says "it will not darken with time".)

Can shellac be colored?

If you are not interested in garnet, amber or transparent color, here is good news. Jim told us that shellac can be colored to achieve different colors in our wood project.

What is the shelf life of shellac?

Jim reminded us of the shelf life of shellac. He said the shelf life of the insect film

We mixed with denatured alcohol for about six weeks. The shelf life of the premixed shellac purchased in the store is three years. The premixed shellac has a date stamp on the can so that we know when it expires.