In desperate need of some opinions ASAP

[fudo133]

Hi everyone, i've been working on an 18th century japanese wheeled chest for a few months now and its just about finished at this point, all that's really left before i bring it home from work (aside from finicky bits on the inside i'll be doing at a leisurely pace) is the finishing.

i gave one end of it a sealer coat of shellac on friday and i'm not sure i like the results, so i'm after some opinions from people on what they think looks better and suits the piece more

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This is what the chest currently looks like, and what the finish is like, with wax alone it'd more or less stay this sort of colour but would get a little richer and glossier

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Here's what the left end looks like with a single thin sealer coat of shellac, the photo on the left shows a direct before/after shot (left is before, right is after), and the other photo shows how the left looks compared to the rest of the chest now.

I'm just wondering if its too bright and if it takes away too much of the original patina and feeling of the piece?
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And last but not least, this is what i think the chest would look like if i gave the whole thing a coat of shellac and a wax

I'm really after people's honest opinions on it and whether you think that shellac changes or highlights the lighter tones too much and takes away too much darkness or whether you think it makes the wood look richer and generally better?

[NCArcher]

I don't think it's too bright. I prefer the lighter tone. How is it getting lighter? Is the metho in the shellac disolving the existing coating or something? Or is it just removing grime as you apply it?
That chest reminds me of the cupboards in every traditional room we stayed in in Japan. Used to store the bedding during the day.

[fudo133]

I don't think it's too bright. I prefer the lighter tone. How is it getting lighter? Is the metho in the shellac disolving the existing coating or something? Or is it just removing grime as you apply it?
That chest reminds me of the cupboards in every traditional room we stayed in in Japan. Used to store the bedding during the day.

Hi there, it wasn't really making it lighter so to speak, more revealing its true colour by taking off the last of the dusty dirt on it that i wasn't able to get off before i put the shellac on.
After settling down a bit i decided it was best to just do the whole thing with at least a sealer coat of shellac since taking it off that end without stuffing up the finish underneath could have been problematic. As it was, it turned out that the rest of the chest came up pretty well under a coat of shellac, though the other end was a bit darker than this one was, so i added a little black pigment to a really weak shellac blend and put that on and now it all matches nicely

As for it being similar to traditional japanese futon cupboards, i'm actually pretty sure that could have been one of its original uses since it doesnt and as far as i can see, never has had a proper strong box like most of the accountants and merchants wheeled chests from the same period