Changing table finish

[drumpriest]

Hey Eric, glad that you've had some success with EM6000. It does seem like it will orange peel when you first spray it, but quickly levels as it dries. I've found that it really takes 4-5 coats to become really smooth, but with 25-30 mins between coats, this isn't much of a problem for me. The burn in makes it nice too, as you don't need to sand between coats except to remove any dust that has settled.

Are you using water based shellac from target coatings? Or alcohol shellac? It shouldn't really matter, but I have seen some unevenness issues with the water based shellac if I don't pre-raise the grain on some woods. Other than that I don't much worry about getting too much shellac on my project, just so long as it doesn't run on me. Since it isn't the top coat it is more about what soaks in than what stays on top.

Pay close attention to your spray pattern, btw. I do occasionally have a dumb moment and spray the wrong way with the pattern and end up with too much finish. The good news is that it'll wipe up and you can respray easily enough.

[thrytis]

I'm using alcohol based shellac. I didn't want to worry about raising the grain and i like the idea of mixing only what i need.

Thanks for the spray pattern tip. I'll try to remember to double check each time, since that sounds exactly like something i would do!

I'm using a 10' x 10' screened room that i picked up for $10-$15 at the end of last year for spraying. I open two sides up, spray, then zip it up while it dries. It works pretty well keeping stuff off of it and i don't have to worry about direct sun and rain. I wish i had picked up a spare one to dedicate to spraying.