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I spent 15 years flipping found furniture with polyurethane before a random estate sale lady told me to try shellac instead
Picked up a beat-up oak side table in Cincinnati for $12 last spring and after she showed me how shellac dissolves into itself for repairs I realized I'd been fighting sticky brush strokes for no reason all this time, has anyone else stuck with a finish way too long before switching?
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barnes.morgan4mo ago
Holy cow, 15 years! That's a whole era of furniture flipping spent fighting with polyurethane. I remember my first shellac project and how it felt like cheating when I realized I could just melt the finish back together instead of sanding for hours. Polyurethane always made me feel like I was wrestling the brush, not working with it. Did you have any projects you completely ruined with poly that you wish you could go back and fix with shellac?
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scott.grace4mo ago
My 2012 oak dresser comes to mind, with those awful brush marks that looked like frozen waves. I used to believe a tough finish like poly was the only good choice for daily use furniture. Watching a restorer fix a shellac tabletop with just alcohol and a rag changed my whole view on repairability. Now I see fighting with a finish is a sign you might be using the wrong one for the job.
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