Depends on how thick the veneer is. I’ve cut thicker veneers 3/32" or 1/8" with no problems. As long as the veneer is reasonably flat and you have it stuck to the work surface well you shouldn’t have problems.
wow thats thick veneer lol where do you get veneers like that? cause i have other projects that could use that
I’ve bought them from Woodcraft. They came in a package that had several species of wood, all about the same thickness in 2’ lengths and various widths.
hmmmm
What I usually do when coloring the engraved portions of a piece is:
- Carve
- Coat entire thing with blonde shellac.
This seals the engraved areas so the grain does not wick the color coat into the grain. - Mask off so mostly only engraved area is exposed to reduce clean up.
4 Spray color coat. I like to use the cheap stuff, except for red. Fades quickly in sunlight.
5. Clean up surface with lacquer thinner.
6. Sand surface clean of shellac.
7. Finish as desired.
Note. if final finish will be lacquer based, seal engraved areas with shellac before final sanding. This prevents the final finish from attacking the color in the engraving.
This works well because lacquer and shellac have different solvents (lacquer thinner and alcohol) and do not interact with one another.
I believe that mineral spirit based finishes (polyurethane, etc.) will affect the spray paint in the engravings but at a slower rate. I would seal with shellac just to be safe.
Hey guys I have to throw my 2 cents in here.
One issue that I do see is with the Zinnser Shellac. The shellac that comes In the spray Aeresol can, does not have wax in it. But the brush on type is not Wax-Free. For a brush on Wax-Free shellac you will need to use the Zinnser Sanding Sealer Shellac, which is Wax-Free.
When using Just shellac as a finish, then it will not matter. But the Wax in the regular brushing shellac can cause adhesion problems with lacquers and other finishes when applied on top of the shellac. So all of the hard work could be lost due to the top coats peeling off.
A Wax-Free shellac does not have this issue. It can be considered one of the best finishes available for sealing the workpiece. It will adhere to most anything, it is non-toxic, and just about anything adheres to it. I seal all of my products with the Zinsser sanding sealer. It really is a great product.
Also keep in mind that the Shellac is a “Softer” finish than lacquers and poly’s. The shellac coat needs to be very thin and consistent. As thin as possible to have a full seal. If a thick coat of shellac is applied, then a harder finish is applied on top of it, the finish will eventually fail. It is generally a bad idea to apply a softer finish under a harder finish. So the key is to keep the shellac coat as thin as possible.
Just wanted to share from my experience.
1 Like
sweet i will check that out I have to go back and read what you said but thanks for your input busy day today lol
Nice catch on the wax issue, the only shellac I use on my wood projects is wax free. I have found that it avoids alot of problems down the road. I often seal my woodworking projects with waxless shellac, sand lightly, and finish with several coats of sprayed lacquer. it gives a really nice, smooth finish.
1 Like