Is shellac a good choice for this project?

[Johnnz]

Hi all,
I have just completed a telephone cabinet made of solid white (American) oak floorboards that I designed for my mother's new house. Tonight I gave it a coat of Rustin's Wood dye (medium oak). When I bought the dye I found a bottle of French Polish at the hardware store too and thought I would like to give it a go. I am just wondering if it is suitable for this project? The issue I think may be that since there are so many little grooves that another finishing method may be easier? Most of the Shellac videos I have seen on youtube are done on projects with lots of broad flat surfaces. Will it be ok and just take a bit longer or is it better to chose another finish?

Cheers,
-John.

[munruben]

Nice looking piece there. I see no reason why french polish would not take on that timber. Years ago the interior of caravans in the UK was mostly Oak in the good quality vans and were french polished. when done correctly it looks great. Not the best finish for table tops though, not durable enough. You can't stand hot plates directly on the surface. Good luck with it.

[Johnnz]

Thanks for the reply. Well, I have used the Shellac and tried making a 'rubber' to apply it with. It was not possible to get into the corners and little nooks and cranies with it so I also had to use a brush. The shellac does give a very beautiful deep colour to the oak, but is quite an effort to apply especially to something like this.

I emptied a 250ml bottle from the hardware store and there is still some way to go before getting an even finish. I will carry on later as I have ordered flakes which is quite a bit cheaper and mix my own up.

[dr4g0nfly]

Oak (being Oak) has an open grain and therefore it's difficult to get a very high polish on it with Shellac. Certainly you can seal the wood and buff it to a good finish but a French (Highly) polished finish would require you to seal and fill the grain first.