How to Tint Shellac Wood Finish

[@shda5582]

I had great success many years ago restoring a gun stock using filtered Rit Dye poured into the shellac. If I remember right, I used 10ml of the dye into I THINK a half quart (?) of shellac to get the color I wanted.

[@AussieWoodshed]

Interesting, i had never heard of Rit dye, now ill have to see if i can get some to try. Thanks for sharing

[@rickterrance4981]

Is that all you used for coloring? I'm thinking I ought to use a dark wood dye applied with alcohol and sanded off a few times to create contrast within the grain then after finishing and sealing with tung oil pushing the sawdust "slurry" into the grain in between coats I'll top coat with an amber dye tinted shellac maybe even a garnet or amber shellac and give it a few layers to "warm up" the wood until I achieve my desired effect. I'm just irritated that gunmakers nowadays simply paint on an extremely dark thick urethane finish on guns and it covers up all the beauty of the wood all to save a couple bucks. I. Irritated that I've got to even do this in the first place but for a $1600 gun with a turkish walnut stock it needs to shine to the best of its ability.

[@shda5582]

@rickterrance4981 yes. I had to filter it out with coffee filters since the Rit stuff has little crystals in it that you don't want in your stain. Nothing else and it worked out quite well.

[@anthonyseiver7000]

Leaves a great finish and really highlights the grain.

[@AussieWoodshed]

Yeah shellac is great at making the grain pop

[@coppulor6500]

This video is fantastic. Not too much blah blah and plenty of useful info that has most definitely piqued my interest in exploring shellac. I LOVE how quickly it cures and how it does not stay oily etc for days. My issue was that the clear was definitely nice but a bit boring and the amber is very 70's (at least to people from my generation lol). I needed a dark walnut or english cheestnut option to stain. Watered down paint was my next option but I absolutely LOVE the finish you got. Simply awesome. I subscribe to a channel maybe once a year these days so I don't get overwhelmed. You have another subscriber. Thank you 👍

[@AussieWoodshed]

Glad the video was useful to you. Shellac is definitely a great finish and i really love how quickly it dries too. Interestingly you can also buy shellac with a hardener in it, which i found out recently which makes it more durable. Thanks for the sub much appreciated

[@coppulor6500]

​@@AussieWoodshedthe hardener bit, very interesting! I'm just learning about shellac and finishes in general. Been going through hell trying to get the finish I want using stain. What a pain in the ass!!! Pre-stain conditioning? Raising the grain then sanding again, oops this piece of wood was wetter than that piece so now it absorbed stain differently oh and also that type of wood looks different than this species and oh, its also going to take forever to cure 🤦. Screw all that. I want tinted/dyed shellac. Its a game changer. 👍

[@AussieWoodshed]

@@coppulor6500 Staining is definitely a pain, especially trying to get uniform coverage on different species of wood. Tinted shellac definitely gives you another option and a way to control the colour.

[@coppulor6500]

​@@AussieWoodshedI just went to Rockler (woodworking chain store here in the US) and got three trans tint dyes. Brown mahogany, dark walnut, and medium brown. I just started experimenting and the colors and finish I was able to achieve with almost no effort blew me away. If you could see all the sample pieces of wood and all the sample stains I have lying around that have tortured me over the last couple months and all the blotch you would with and without conditioner and all of that effing bullshit! You would laugh and cry at the same time lol :-) You, sir, have just saved me endless torment. I'm so grateful! You absolutely rule. Care to share a few more details on the hardener?

[@AussieWoodshed]

@@coppulor6500 I'm not sure what the hardener is. I have seen a few placing selling the premixed shellac with the hardener already in it called 'hard shellac', or just the hardener by itself. One of the website say 'The hardened shellac can be used on table tops so that condensation & heat rings do not occur. Also increases resistance to alcohol.' and 'Traditional French Polish with a hardening additive to increase scratch, moisture and heat resistance, giving polyurethanes “extra tough' reputation a run for its money!' I have been skeptical about using it not know what the hardener is as i prefer natural finishes. I suspect it is some sort of plasticisers, but i cant find any information on it. I just through I'd mention it as it might be a good solution for hard wearing areas as it is claimed to clear up and be tinted like normal shellac, but you cant let it dry on your brush as it will set and wreck your brush. I also read somewhere it takes longer to dry than straight shellac which is probably worth it for more durability. Hope this helps

[@swissthun60]

Great help to me.., appreciate your efforts here...

[@AussieWoodshed]

My pleasure

[@Nasser-f3x]

Thank you for information 👍

[@AussieWoodshed]

@@Nasser-f3x My pleasure, i hope you found it useful.

[@swissthun60]

Thanks!

[@AussieWoodshed]

Thanks, very much appreciated

[@chuckbowie5833]

Thanks for sharing!

[@AussieWoodshed]

My Pleasure

[@christimartin8512]

I am curious: what is the lightfastness of the dye in shellac?

[@AussieWoodshed]

I'm not sure anyone has ever tested it. So not sure.

[@donscottvansandt4139]

It would make sense to me that the thinner one would penitrate the wood more?

[@AussieWoodshed]

Do you mean the Shellac Cut? 1lb vs 2lb in that case 1lb definitely would penetrate the wood more. If you mean once the alcohol based dye has been added? The amount of alcohol added in the dye is negligible i have noticed no difference once the dye is added.

[@joshuasmith1215]

Thanks for making this video. That's exactly what I want to do to an old piece of furniture but I'd like to have the protection of a polyurethane on top of it. Would there be any reason I shouldn't put poly over a few coats of shellac?

[@AussieWoodshed]

It should be fine as long as its dry and you will want to use dewaxed shellac to ensure the poly will adhere

[@aaronsmith2433]

Can you take a lighter yellow dye and lighten up an amber shellac?

[@AussieWoodshed]

Great question, I've never tried it so I'm not sure. A lighter shellac cut say 1lb would be light than a 2lb as there is less shellac flakes. But adding a dye to lighten it im really not sure. Sorry i couldn't be more helpful on this one.

[@akipachoekie]

Hello, it seems that the handle of the plane has a satin finish. I think it's a beautiful color. How to get a satin finish with shellac, so you get a vintage look.

[@AussieWoodshed]

Generally the shellac is a little more shiny than satin and can be very high gloss when lots of coats are applied. I usually apply 2 -3 light coats of shellac and then let it dry and rub it back with paste wax and steel wool, the last step cuts the shellac gloss back a bit.

[@mikekendall5870]

If I was trying to block the grain from showing on the finish product might I want to first use a clear sanding sealer before applying the tinted shellac. I clearly want to use stain but do not want the grain to show through.

[@AussieWoodshed]

If you're using the stain directly on the timber then yes a sanding sealer should work to help hide the grain. If you're using a tinted shellac i don't think there is any need for a sanding sealer as most sanding sealers are shellac, so you could build up the layers and that should hide the grain. I would recommend doing some tests on the timber you're using as it could vary from different species, based on how porous the timber is and if there are growth rings, which absorb at different rates to the rest of the timber. I don't do a lot of staining (so others might have different idea) but in my experience applying the stain directly to the timber after sealing would be the best way to 'hide' the grain as you can apply more layers of stain without getting a thick film finish with it. Hope this helps.

[@mikekendall5870]

Thank you for making time to respond

[@AussieWoodshed]

@@mikekendall5870 i have been doing some tests as i get this question or similar quite a bit, so i will be filming the results. So hopefully you get a better idea

[@mikekendall5870]

@@AussieWoodshed Wow I very much appreciate that sir. Will be eagerly awaiting for the results.

[@AussieWoodshed]

@@mikekendall5870 i just wanted to make sure i gave you the best answer i could

[@PeteLewisWoodwork]

I apologise for pausing the video so early and interrupting. I think it depends on what we are aiming for. If it's tool handles, that might suggest one colour; if it's furniture, that might suggest another colour.

[@AussieWoodshed]

Definitely need to choose the correct colour for the project, be that a dye or just natural shellac colours

[@martinluthierking]

you paused the video and interrupted him? interesting.

[@modarmakes]

Gotta try this one day on my restored totes. Somehow straight oil finish doesn't look & feel right.

[@AussieWoodshed]

Yeah, i used to use just oil and i felt the same. The shellac to me just feels right when using the hand plane

[@bloggalot4718]

It’s worth mentioning the different shellacs and their colours.

[@AussieWoodshed]

The main reason i didn't mention it for this video was because i have tinting the shellac with a dye, I guess it could effect the colour depending on the initial colour of the shellac. I do have another video where i do a deep dive into shellac and how to mix your own where i mention the different colours and type of shellac.

[@SasonEyR]

Its more dye then shallac

[@AussieWoodshed]

@@SasonEyR Hardly, just a splash of dye. Add more or less depending on the tint wanted. I don't know how else you expect to get the exact colour you're after, can't always use the natural shellac colour.