I've been goofin with this aerosol can for about a month.
I think it's great!
I used to wait at least a day for the stain/dye to dry completely before wiping on a top coat. And, even then, I'd inevitably find a spot -- in a very visible location -- where the top coat would lift some stain and give me a nice blotch.
For the last month, I've been staining some pieces (one water based, others oil based) and then immediately coming back with a light spray of shellac. It dries in minutes.
Last week, I tried some GF Gel Poly just minutes after that!
I dunno - maybe I'm heading for some massive finish failure, but so far it looks like it works just fine! And it knocks a whole day off the schedule.
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The other place I've been using it is on end-grain, before applying the stain. Just a quick spritz and the end grain colors up nicely.
__________________ The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding. Leonardo daVinci
So long as you remain in the realm of reason, your schedule should be just fine. Putting a heavy oil-based stain coat on, overcoating with shellac 5 minutes later, then applying several coats of film finish, is asking for trouble. But if you keep it realistic, it's fine.
__________________ That boy is energetically stupid.
- Boxman
The stain is 99% of the time a gel based stain that I apply with a foam brush, wait 5 mins, then buff off excess with a cotton cloth. I usually end up buffing pretty good to make sure tone is even.
Like I mentioned, last month I started coming on back after a few minutes with a light spray of the shellac. Light. Just enough to cover.
Usually that would sit for a day and then I'd do my GF Arm-R-Seal schedule.
Last week, I hit the kitchen table with GF water based stain - Fire Engine Red! . Let it dry for a couple of hours, then light spray of shellac, then GF gel poly one coat. Let that dry for several hours, then another GF get poly, and let that dry for several hours, then a third coat.
Seems to be holding up under child abuse so far.
This morning, it was gel based stain, buff out. Then light spray shellac. Then GF gel poly brushed on.
I'll let each coat of poly dry for about a day before coming back for the next coat.
Does this sound OK?
__________________ The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding. Leonardo daVinci
My concern is sealing in uncured oil-based stain product, that's the most likely way to fail anything you've mentioned. These products all cure at different speeds based on, well, everything. Formula, age of product, temperature. I think the number of squirrels in the neighborhood affect cure time, I just haven't worked out exactly how.
So, your nose is your friend. I don't work much with gels, so moderate this conversation through that... Typical liquid oil-based product has a smell made up of two components, the solvent like mineral spirits, and the base like linseed oil. I would want the smell of solvent to be largely gone before applying shellac. This should be pretty quick in normal circumstances, and might be really quick with gel.
Over water-based stain, I'm less concerned. They dry really quickly, and are pretty inert at that point.
__________________ That boy is energetically stupid.
- Boxman
The *problem* I was having was the stain would lift off - after drying for a day - in places when I came back with my first coat of Arm-R-Seal.
Runining the piece.
I thought - well maybe I scraped the QSWO too hard? Maybe the stain didn't penetrate. So I'd go back to sanding everything with 220.
Nope - would still happen in some spots, not everywhere.
Well maybe I need to wait two days for the stain to dry.
Helped some, but it would still happen. The topcoat would still pull off some of the stain and the piece is ruined.
Ok - I'll do a seal coat with shellac after the stain dries for a day.
Ta Da' - that worked.
The shellac seal coat did the trick.
No stain came up with the first coat of Arm-R-Seal.
Then the brain said - I wonder if I can rush the finishing process by laying down the shellac seal coat shortly after the stain? It would take one day, the stain drying time, out of the process.
__________________ The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding. Leonardo daVinci
If the stain and the finish have the same solvent, it could take several days to avoid lifting the color. The shellac is acting as a barrier to prevent that, but using a water-based stain and a thinner-based finish, or vice versa, would also work.
If that's already been mentioned, excuse me: my brain seems to be taking some time off, lately.
If the stain and the finish have the same solvent, it could take several days to avoid lifting the color.
In unusual circumstances, almost no amount of time will prevent that sort of lifting. It has to do with stain that have a large amount of dye that dissolved easily. One of Minwax's stains, a Mahogany IIRC, actually listed a caution on the label about this problem. A barrier coat of shellac is an excellent way to prevent lifting, and if it just happens to speed things on a bit, well, don't tell anyone.
__________________ That boy is energetically stupid.
- Boxman
Speeding things up...
. Let it dry for a couple of hours, then light spray of shellac, then GF gel poly one coat. Let that dry for several hours, then another GF get poly, and let that dry for several hours, then a third coat.
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