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I'm using shellac for the first time. I'm wiping it onto a guitar body and neck. I am going for a very minimal and basic finish - 3 coats and then knocking it back with steel wool for a satin finish. The neck is absolutely great. I think the smoothest and fastest neck I've made yet.

I have worked with wipe on oils, wipe on poly, tru oil, nitro lacquer, pre cat lacquer etc and nothing is quite like the intensely fast drying time of this shellac. I'm just using the zinsser bulls eye amber toned stuff. I had a very difficult time getting it wiped on there flat and uniform. In the end it's ok, as i am smoothing it all out with the steel wool.

I can't help but wonder how this stuff would be for spraying with an hvlp gun or similar. Has anyone tried it? I am assuming because of the alcohol as its base, successive coats will melt into previous ones. Would I be right about that? I'm excited by the idea to try this and would like to know about any other experiences.

Yes, you can spray multiple coats of shellac. I've always wondered why people mess with french polishing (for build-up), when you can just spray it.

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Regards,
Phillip Patton

http://www.pattonblades.com

The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price has faded.

https://hoosierbladesmith.wordpress.com

The surface tends to get orange peeled bad as anything when sprayed so there will be a fair bit of leveling to do at the end.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

I spray my own dissolved shellac as a sealer coat. Of course, you have to experiment with the viscosity, but it's not difficult.
I've never built enough thickness to have a problem with orange peel, but I have no doubt that it could happen. I've always sprayed thinned shellac, and I've occasionally had small runs that later needed to be level sanded. All in all, not too much trouble. Seems to me it could work as a final finish.

It's my preferred method of finishing. Takes a while to get the hang of it like any good sprayed finish but well worth it IMO.

I prefer quick and simple finishes for my guitars lately. I would likely spray 2 or 3 average coats and then simply knock it to a flat satin with 0000 steel wool. I want that thin hand rubbed close to bare wood feel and look but without having to bother with the tedious wiping and streak lines that has so far been my experience with wiping shellac.

For those who have sprayed shellac, how many coats have you done and have you buffed it out to a mirror shine?

I'm a shellac lover myself, but I would still put a final thin coat of nitro on once I had the shellac looking good. The nitro has a nice sheen and resists scratches and water damage better than shellac. Sometimes I see 70 year old budget guitars that were finished in shellac only that would be so much more beautiful today if they had had a coat of nitro.