Now I am confused. For many years (30+) I used varnish on rush seats. My main complaints were that it greatly darkened the seats and produced rough texture seats. At last year's gathering I admired Al's rush seats and he said he used shellac. I have done several with Zinsser Shellac with excellent results. I never dreamed of water spots until reading these posts. When I was using varnish I used mostly semigloss but regardless of the finish, they always seemed to darken a lot and end up being rough. How do you get looks, smooth finish, and durability?
I have been doing this for over 14 years and have stained almost everything I have worked on. The only thing you should seal is fibre rush and you should use shellac. If caning is sealed it dries out ... more
Sandy, I have been weaving seats for over 30 years as part of the services we offer in our furniture restoration service that is over 40 years young. Chances are you have woven more chairs in 14... more
This discussion reminds me of some of the disscussions in my bee club. Sometimes we all agree on a subject sometimes we do not. It is said in the bee keeping circles that if you ask 10 bee keepers a... more
I've read about sealing paper rush seats with a mixture of 1 part shellac and 3 parts alcohol to quicken the drying process. Are there any pros or cons to this? Will 2 coats be sufficient?
Personally, I never use shellac on my fibre rush chair seats, because invariably the customer (or in rare cases, myself) will spill water or some other type of liquid on the seat and turn that spot... more
shellac (when liquid) deteriorates over time, whether you mix your own or use commercially premixed age is important! if your shellac water spotted it was old and should have been tossed. Check the... more
I've used Zinsser shellac as well, with good results. BUT I had a customer who put his new fibre rush seat next to the front door of his house, then tossed newspapers (sometimes wet) onto the chair & ... more
Mindy, The Zinsser shellac I used was brand new, never been opened and bought from a paint store a day or so before I used it and the seats still water spotted. They were sitting in my shop and were... more
Water Spots on Shellac Rush seats ddick,Tue Mar 23 9:43am
there are more water resistant finishes than shellac but if water spills are wiped up white spots shouldn't develop. this is one more bit of care information that should be passed to rush customers... more
I have always used this formula, it not only dries a bit faster but it also covers evenly. I use this mixture on all my Fibre rush seats and actually apply three coats. I have customers who came to... more
using a clear finish will get you the same as just wetting the bark, anything with a amber color will darken it more Craig Phillips B & C Emporium Allegan Michigan http://www.b-c-e.biz