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I learned something today.

I am finishing a pipe that I'm really excited about, and I got a little ahead of myself. Typically, I allow at least 6 hours after applying shellac before I sand and buff, but today I decided to push that rule. I gave the shellac about 2 hours, and then did a light sanding, which went fine. Then I went to buff and that's where everything went to crap.

Turns out the shellac wasn't as cured as I had hoped, so when I went to buff with tripoli it gunked up really bad and ended up making a sticky "candy shell" gunky spot, which could not be buffed away. Long story short, I've had to resand all the way back to 220 because I couldn't sand the gunked up shellac without creating a light spot in the stain, so now I'm back to 220 and resuming my staining process. *sigh*

Stupid patience and its virtuousness... :p

Hey Simeon,

I think you might have something a little screwy in your process if it takes 6 hours for the amount of shellac you're using to dry. When you shellac a smooth pipe--as some pipemakers do--it should be with a spit coat right before buffing. The spit coat can either be wiped off with a paper towel, or allowed to dry . . . for five minutes. If it takes more than a few minutes for it to dry to the point that it can be buffed, you're laying it on too thick for sure.

Todd

Interesting...thanks for that advice, Todd. I have definitely always applied more than that, all on the advice of the guy who ran the woodshop at the high school I taught at. Of course, he had no clue about pipe making at all, and over the years I have found quite a few areas where his advice has turned out to be less than stellar.

I'll definitely go with a spit coat on this one now and see how it goes. It sure seems like that would work better (and faster).

Thanks again! I'll be sure to post pics of the pipe when it's done.

sounds like he was actually trying to get you to seal the wood... which is what we don't want to do AND what shellac doesn't do well (my understanding is that is why its not popular anymore).

Also make sure your shellac is good. Once in solution you have tops 6 months, dry flake a bit longer if stored in optimum conditions. Check out http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/shellac.shtml

Real Shellac as a sealer is very effective against things like sap, but completely ineffective against water vapor. In theory, it should be a good pipe finish.

A very little shellac goes a long way!