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General Category => General Scroll Saw Talk => Topic started by: geneVG on September 23, 2011, 10:02:46 pm
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What is the difference between shellac and Poly?
gene
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Shellac is made from bug poop and poly is made from petrolium.
Rog
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Shellac has two vowels and poly only has one. ;D
Bill P.
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Thanks guys, but I ask again "What is the difference between shellac and Poly?"
gene
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Shellac is safe to consume, Poly is not, however it is child safe once cured.
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Shellac is cut/thinned with alcohol and Poly is cut/thinned with Mineral Spirits...
~~~GB~~~
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Personally, I think the humor sort of paved the way for the real answers, and made Dunk and GB look even better by comparison.
Bill P.
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Well Bill they need all the help they can get. LOL
Gabby
Just kidding guys!
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OK! OK!
I'll go ahead and answer you question with a question.....What exactly are you looking for in an answer?
If you want to know how the products are made, you can google "shellac" and/or "polyurethane" and find the answer.
If you want to know how they are used as finishes, the answer is "They can be used basically the same way as a finish" but, it depends on what you are looking for as a finish. As stated before, Shellac is alcohol based and would not be a good finish for bar tops, medicine chests, or jewelry boxes as they could be exposed to alcohol in some way. Polyurethane is a hard durable finish and can be had in gloss, semi gloss, and satin and can be used on almost anything as far as chemical damage goes.
As a side note shellac is used to coat candy and pills and can be ingested. (I know, I know, and it's made from bug poop!?!?!?)
I generally use a #1 lb cut of shellac as a sealer on most woods that will be stained to prevent blotching and then after the staining I can put on more #2 lb cut of shellac or I can use the polly of my choice on top of that.
Shellac can be purchased in flakes and mixed with alcohol to the strength that you want. I generally buy mine for a paint/home store in a can pre-mixed (Zinser seal coat for example)
Rog
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shellac drys really fast, also. I use it when I need a project dry quick.
Shellac will also "melt" into the last layer of shellac, so will sort of level its self out over a project more. Poly sits on top of more poly.
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Poly is a harder finish and does not mark, shellac is a soft finish and tends to chip and mark easily
Jimbo
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when I was a kid my dad gave me a good shellacing when I was bad--never had a good polying though---thumbs ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)
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Pollyanna wasn't my type, but I dated two different Sheila's. Those were the days... well...of course...until I met my wife that is.
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First of all I want to tell both you Roger and Bill I am sorry if I soumded out of sorts, I really did not mean it that why. AQlso, I want to that you Roger and Bill and the rest of you for helping know the difference between the two. I read all of you talk about both of them and I had to ask the question and find out. Once again Roger and Bill I stand with my head down.
gene
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Chin up ol' chap we are all thicker skinned than you can imagine...No harm no foul I say!
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Gene,
I read nothing in your post that you should feel badly about. We're family here. Dysfunctional at times, but family. Roger and I just put the "fun" in dysfunctional. ;)
Bill P.
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Gene,
I have no problem at all with anything said, it is just hard to answer such a general question and I am a natural born smart @$$ so my first answer was rather short and terse. I really didn't know exactly what you were asking about and still don't as far as that goes. ::)
I have been doing wood working in general and scrolling for about 10 years (which is allot less than some people on this forum) and it is hard for me to remember when I didn't know about allot of things either. :-[
Don't be embarrassed about asking ANY question here, we are all here to help anyway we can but, you need to be more specific about what you need to know. ;) Some questions are such that it would fill a book and many of us have our own reasons for what we do and why we do it. Example...."What kind of wood is best for making an end table?" ??? ::) :P :-\ ;)
Sorry for being such a "smarty". :-[ ;) ;D
Rog
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THanks guys, like you said,"we are family". I like that.
gene
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My grandfather used shellac...I use poly but then again I have always been a rebel :-\
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Wow I sure have missed alot here. LOL
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welcome back cherie, haven't seen you in a while.