Shellac Pine Flooring

Varnish and shellac are two of the most commonly used pine wood finishes on the market today.

Shellac pine flooring.

Shellac is a versatile non toxic wood finish that enhances the natural grain while adding smoothness without the plastic like qualities of polyurethane or lacquer. This knowledge is equal parts gross and fascinating to me. Without shellac pine s pitch can bleed into oil based finishes leaving fissures or shiny spots that remain tacky especially around knots. In the north tight grained old growth eastern white pine is still going strong in many homes.

Shellac is available in most home centers as a liquid in a can. It also comes in solid form or in flakes that must be dissolved and it has a shorter shelf life than other finishes. As manufacturing and railroads made paints and coatings more available after 1860 varnish shellac and other clear hard finishes became popular for woodwork. Some shellac manufacturers recommend using it as a protective coat on non wood items.

The earliest wood floors usually softwoods such as pine were often never finished. Shellac prepares the dyed surface for glazing step 4. The resin is scraped from trees and then diluted or processed in denatured alcohol when used for flooring purposes. But notice that the first three situations are all refinishing problems not new wood problems and the last is rare for professional finishers.

Though not often used one of the best finishes for pine is shellac which is attractive nontoxic once dry and resists the resins in pine. Shellac can appear glossier than varnish but requires several coats to achieve that high shine finish. Shellac finishes were common on wood floors until urethanes became more widely accepted. It also keeps pitch sealed in the wood.

Unlike synthetic urethanes shellac is a natural resin that is derived from the lac beetle and diluted with. Varnish is typically heavier than shellac and will usually require only one maybe two coats to finish. Apply it with a natural bristle brush or with a cotton rag. You can brush on wipe on with a rag or spray on.

Shellac also blocks the resin from pine knots and very oily exotic woods which can slow the drying of lacquer and varnish significantly. However shellac is about as natural as it gets for a wood flooring finish.