Shellac v Wood Conditioner

[chrisinoz]

Hi. I am doing a small project involving pine panels about 10mm thick.

I have read that before staining it is best to coat BOTH back and front and sides to seal the wood from moisture entry to prevent any possibility of cupping/warping before staining.

Some say use a wood conditioner, others say 1:1 shellac.

I am confused which one I should use. I do understand both will help reduce blotching in softwoods when staining.

Look forward to any help here.

Cheers
Chris

[Christos]

I certainly not able to comment on Wood Conditioner as I have never use it. I do have a thought as that would be what are the components of wood conditioner?

I have used a thinned out mixture of Shellac to prevent blotching in pine and even used it on the end grain. It has given me good results.

[chrisinoz]

Thanks for your reply Christos

I have read that a weak mixture of shellac does does work for some (1/2 pound). I did purchase a wood conditioner in the end as I needed to get started on something. I purchased Feast Watson Timber Primer.

Timber Primer | Wood Preserver, For Priming New Timber

A penetrating wood preserver for priming new timber prior to applying a stain or varnish. Use on soft, porous timber such as pine to ensure that stains and top coats absorb evenly. It has added water repellency.

and if not happy I will give the Shellac a go.

Cheers
Chris

[jmk89]

Looks to me like a very thin oil-based varnish. It might work, but I would try thin shellac first because anything will go over shellac, but sometimes all you can do with other materials is sand down to bare wood.

Of course you are going to try this out on offcuts and not on the project......

[chrisinoz]

Hi Jeremy

Thanks for your post.

I will certainly try on some test pieces first.

Very new to woodworking so every step is a learning curve.

Cheers
Chris