Lady Isabella by palmerit - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - Zulu

[palmerit]

I hoping to leave the upper portion natural wood. I'm leaning toward using WOP by itself. I've seen some recommend shellac instead. Despite reading a whole bunch of posts, I haven't been able to figure out the relative strengths and weaknesses of the two options. I know shellac is dissolvable with alcohol. And I believe you can use PVA glue with shellac, but likely not to WOP. The planking is pear, so I know I don't want to use a stain. I've seen some recommend a tung or danish oil, but some posts have recommended against using those.  

[palmerit]

Two coats each of clear shellac, amber shellac, and WOP (on pear wood that’s the 2nd layer of planking). The amber is my least favorite. 
 

I think I like the clear shellac the most - and it has both the advantage and some would say disadvantage of coming off with alcohol). But that could be more the particular strips of wood than shellac vs. WOP. 
 

I have not been able to get a clear sense of whether shellac or WOP is better - and have seen  completely opposite recommendations about doing WOP over shellac, from never do it to do it. Lots of posts with strong opinions here and elsewhere. If anyone has objective thoughts on (1) shellac, (2) WOP, or (3) both, I’d love to hear. 

Edited Tuesday at 12:27 AM by palmerit

[Sterling59]

Is the WOP oil or water based? Ive seen bith advertised but havent used either yet....

[palmerit]

Minwax wipe-on-poly is oil based.

[Ronald-V]

I wish I had experience with Shellac so I could give you a honest opinion...but only used WOP (home made, not the ready-made American brand).

That said, I do like how it looks and the workability of WOP.

[Steve1970]

Three thoughts on shellac.

 

1) Shellac is an excellent sealer and the raised grain and 'fuzz' can be sanded off in 10-15 minutes. You can reapply many coats and sand in a single sitting and get a really nice smooth surface. This is extremely nice if you are working with end grain that you want smooth. 

2) Shellac is repairable since it will dissolve with denatured alcohol. 

3) You can always use WOP over the shellac if you prefer the look or sheen of it. 

 

Edited Tuesday at 05:07 PM by Steve1970

[palmerit]

Googling around, it looks like you can use WOP over "de-waxed" shellac, but if you use WOP over shellac that has not been "de-waxed" it will not adhere. The Minwax shellac I have has not been "de-waxed". They do make a special de-waxed version. I think the "wax" comes from the shellac itself, but you can find de-waxed chips to make your own shellac.

 

And I found this video (granted, not about wooden ships, but about wood more generally). For example, it notes that the Zinsser Bullseye Seal Coat (a thinned shellac) is de-waxed (it says 100% wax-free shellac on the can); the regular Zinnser shellac contains wax. The video also notes that the shelf-life of an opened shellac can is only a few months.

 

BT&C shellac flakes (that he shows) are de-waxed. I bought shellac from Lee Valley and they are also de-waxed. 

 

The video also gives a nice formula for making shellac flakes. They're using expressed as a "2 lb cut", which would be 2 lbs of flakes to 1 gallon of alcohol but who makes that much at one time. His formula uses a 4:1 formula, with 4x the alcohol in liquid ounces to 1x the shellac in weight ounces. So a 1/2 pint would be 8oz (liquid) of alcohol and 2oz (weight) of shellac.

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 02:48 PM by palmerit