Replies

1. 
   Danno | Oct 07, 2007 06:27am | #1

   Frenchy here swears by shellac. I like it too. Easily repaired if scratched, the new "melts" into the old. It is pretty hard and looks nice. This was discussed here fairly recently, so a "search" on past discussions and looking for words like "floor finish" may bring them up. Someone here can maybe even tell you the number of the discussion so you can find it that way.

1. 
   user-144543 | Oct 07, 2007 06:48am | #3

   I posted a message last year titled "best wood floor for dogs"  I had to do a search for it, but i did find it.  Will Shellac "yellow", or is it pretty stable.   I was also told by someone to use Marine Spar.  Any experience/comments on that?

1. 
   grpphoto | Oct 07, 2007 07:06am | #4

   Shellac will not yellow, but it does come in several colors. The clear is the most expensive.Marine Spar varnish is designed for flexibility and UV resistance. It's inferior to oil-based polyurethane for floors.George Patterson

2. 
   Danno | Oct 07, 2007 07:09am | #5

   I think that shellac may darken with age. Varnish will yellow or turn more amber with age. Some varnishes, like "spar" (true spar varnish for work on boats) is softer and can get sticky with high humidity, but nowadays they call lots of varnish "spar" varnish when it really isn't. Varnish is very hard to repair--involved sanding whole area and recoating. And I pretty much hate polyurethane and find it hard to use and repair.Shellac can be touched up. Frenchy insists that shellac wil handle dogs okay--I am a little afraid it will scratch, but don't have any experience with it in that regard. Possibly a water-based poly would be okay, but I think it is not so hard a finish. Water based are supposed to remain clear and not yellow.

1. 
   Piffin | Oct 07, 2007 06:52pm | #6

   Some WB poly will yellow and some not.
   My own ipinion is that it will all yellow, just that some is so slight it is immeasureable to the naked eye.
   Shellac will darken with time too., though how much I see is fromthe shellac darkening and how mucch is the underlying wood or smoke attaching itself to the surface, I don't have any idea. 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   Danno | Oct 07, 2007 09:45pm | #7

   Shellac does darken, and to my mind that is nice--part of the "patina."

   Edited to say that your point is well taken--don't know that it is actually the shellac, or just years of smoke and grime, but wiping it with alcohol doesn't seem to remove a darker surface.

   I fixed up woodwork in a house that people were trying to sell. Woodwork was scratched up by their dog (especially window sills where dog put paws in order to look out the windows). I had some trouble matching the color because it had darkened. I tried to reamalgamate the finish on a door with alcohol, but it gummed up and beaded up and looked bad, so I ended up taking most of the old shellac off with alcohol and lacquer thinner and sanding it to smooth it out better before putting new shellac on. I may have even used garnet colored shellac instead of orange, though this was a quick and dirty job, so I may not have bothered--they gave me something like a week to fix up lots of problems before they listed the house.

   I remember hat they locked the dog in the basement during a showing of the house and the dog tore the heck out of the door by pawing at it. I had quite a time with wood filler and artist's brushes and artist's oil paint to fix it up and match the grain. I remember wondering how I'd ever keep ahead of the bloody dog! Luckily the house sold before the dog could wreck much more.

   Edited 10/7/2007 2:47 pm ET by Danno

3. 
   BillHartmann | Oct 08, 2007 01:26am | #8

   With Brizilan Cherry why worry about it yellowing a little?.
   .
   A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.

1. 
   Piffin | Oct 08, 2007 01:43am | #9

   I ain't worried.
   You worried?Ain't nobody got no worries today.Let her yellow up. 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

2. 
   grpphoto | Oct 07, 2007 06:44am | #2

   If it has to be touched up, shellac is the way to go.

   George Patterson