Applying Shellac

Gary Wood replies: Zinsser has clear shellac in an aerosol can, or you can use your own shellac with an airbrush or small spray unit made by Preval. Protect yourself from spray bounce back with a face mask and good ventilation. If you prefer brushing, ox hair or goat hair brushes are soft, flexible and fast. I prefer the round, mop style brush for getting into corners easily.

Bob Oswald replies: I would spray it. You’ll get the usual back-blast from spraying into a corner or closed box but light applications with the gun pointed into the corner will usually assure coverage without the hassle of brushing.

Bruce Hamilton replies: I think the easiest way is with the shellac in an aerosol can. If you prefer a brush then I would use a round, natural hair, mop style brush.

Richard Oedel replies: Really tough to do a good job on boxes with dividers. With shellac, I use squirrel hair mops exclusively, which you can get from Sepp Leaf products. Very expensive (think $100 for a 1 inch mop), but I have had mine for 10 years. You can also get different shapes, rather than the mop, so call them and ask for their Gold leaf brush catalog.