Walnut Serpentine Table - part 2

So between everything that's been going on in the last few days I finally managed to give the walnut table a coat of paraffin oil. I swear, I think everyone was just waiting for me to get a job and then they started having picnics, birthdays, doctor's appointments,... Lol!

Ok, on to serious business :) Yesterday before going to work I mixed my shellac flakes with alcohol to get shellac I can actually work with. You can get pre-mixed shellac I've been told, but I don't think they sell it here and I prefer to do it the old fashioned way anyway. So I mixed 100 ml with 24 grams of flakes and got a 2 pound cut. Shellac can be mixed in different "cuts", depending on what you're using it for.
And then after mixing in the flakes I had to shake it every few hours or so (well, my mum did that for me thankfully, since I wasn't home all day yesterday) and after 24 hours or so it's ready to go. Well, I did have to pour it through an old T-shirt first, in case there were any bits left that didn't dissolve.

On the left is the mixed shellac and on the right a small amount of alcohol to wash my brush with. The shellac would ideally be stored in a darker container but I didn't have anything else on hand. I will store it in a dark place though. I realised I mixed way too much even though I only mixed 100ml. But it would probably be harder to mix even less. I guess I'll have to produce quite a few more pieces in the next 6 months (which is usually how long mixed shellac has before going bad).

The table finally coated with paraffin oil. I had to do more sanding after the filling part was complete, but it was so worth the work! I love how rich the colour is! Now I have to wait until tomorrow for the oil to settle in and for the grain to lift. After that the table will get another light sanding and then, finally, it's first coat of shellac. At least I hope so, since I want to finish the scrap piece with at least four coats today. And then I'll see what kind of shine it will have and also if I have to put anything else on.

And again, the difference in colour. The upper piece is not coated with oil. It's amazing how a little oil can transform a piece so much!

The last thing I wanted to show you is the scrap piece. On the left is the first coat of shellac, already dry. In the middle the wood is coated only with oil and on the right side it's completely unfinished. You can see the difference in colour here perfectly. Also the shellac has a slight shine to it, but nothing drastic yet. Now I will have to wait for 2 hours between each coat of shellac but since I already have the second coat drying I will probably get to finish the scrap piece today.

Well hopefully tomorrow I can start coating the table with shellac. Will report on the progress and show more pictures of shellac layers as I apply them.

Until next time!

*Poof*