Content

• Steps
• Tips
• Warnings
• What do you need

Varnish is a glossy finish for wood that is made with shellac. Shellac is difficult to apply and requires a lot of work, but the end result is well worth the effort. The polish is often used on guitars and other wooden stringed instruments because it stays on the surface of the wood rather than absorbing into it, which can alter the sound of the instrument.It is also a popular furniture finish for its mirror-like shine.

Steps

1. 1 Start working on a clean, perfectly smooth wood surface in a clean, dust-free, warm room. Any unevenness in the wood or dust that settles on the surface during operation will be visible on the coating. If you work in a cold room, the polish will be cloudy.
2. 2 Mix 85 grams of shellac flakes with 500 ml of denatured alcohol. Store the mixture in a tightly sealed container, pouring a small amount into a shallow bowl as you work. While you can buy pre-mixed shellac, the fresher it is, the better the result will be. Wear gloves when handling shellac.
3. 3 Soak a roll of gauze in shellac, then wrap it in a cotton cloth (a piece of an old sheet or white T-shirt works well). Tie the ends of the fabric with an elastic band to make a kind of handle. Squeeze the swab to remove most of the shellac.
4. 4 Add a few drops of olive oil to a sponge. You can use a dropper to avoid adding too much oil. The oil is essential to prevent the swab from drying out or sticking when you apply the shellac. If the tampon does start to stick, add a few more drops of oil.
5. 5 Apply the shellac to the wood using a sliding or smooth motion, covering small areas at a time, approximately 0.6 square meters. Gradually move to circular motions, then motions in shape 8. Each movement will apply a thin layer of shellac, and your goal is to apply about 100 in the polishing process.
   • Shellac dries quickly, so improper movement will leave an imprint of the tampon on the surface.
6. 6 Make a new swab, then add a few drops of shellac and a few drops of rubbing alcohol to the cloth. Begin the drying process by moving the swab in even movements from one side to the other to smooth out any unevenness in the shellac. Be careful not to remove the shellac.
7. 7 Let the coating dry for a few hours to allow all the oil to come to the surface. Then repeat the drying process to remove the oil. This is a separate process.
8. 8 Leave the coating on for a few hours to dry completely, then repeat polishing, drying and applying rubbing alcohol. This needs to be repeated several times to create a thick layer of shellac on the surface of the wood.
9. 9 Polish the surface with tripoli and olive oil. Place the trefoil in a salt shaker and sprinkle it over the surface, then put a few drops of olive oil on a new sponge and rub over the entire surface until you are happy with its appearance.
10. 10 Finish with a light coat of furniture wax to protect the polish from damage.

Tips

• The varnish can be applied to coated wood, if the coating is not acrylic or the like, which leaves a layer of plastic.

Warnings

• Furniture covered with polish looks nice, but it gets dirty easily.
• Denatured alcohol is flammable

What do you need

• Shellac flakes
• Denatured alcohol
• Olive oil
• Gauze
• Cotton fabric
• Rubber
• Vinyl or nitrile gloves
• Containers with tight lids
• Furniture wax