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What’s the difference between a lacquer, shellac, polyurethane or oil finish on my wood products?


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All Forums >> [Community Discussions] >> Bondage Gear and Apparel >> What’s the difference between a lacquer, shellac, polyurethane or oil finish on my wood products? Page: [1]
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What’s the difference between a lacquer, shellac, pol... - 1/24/2008 7:15:43 AM   
sub4agonia


Posts: 26
Joined: 1/22/2008
Status: offline 		I get asked this question all the time when people are purchasing custom made wood products from me.  I thought I would try to explain the differences here in a simple manner.

Generally a lacquer is either clear or colored product that when dried seals a wood in a hard durable finish that can have a range of finishes from matte to glossy.  Lacquer is a cellulose nitrate product that uses a solvent to cure.  It has additives to make it less brittle.

Shellac is an insect based resin.  It is cured by alcohol.

Both offer good protection for wood products to be used indoors, but not for flooring.  They can bring out grain patterns in wood and add a depth of color to the piece.

Polyurethane is basically a hard plastic coating that can come in different finishes.  It is very hard and is great for flooring.

Spar or Marine quality polyurethane or varnish is used for salt water and outdoor woodwork exposed to high levels of sun and rain.

Oil finishes are absorbed into the wood and creates a barrier protecting the wood from moisture.  Unlike the other finishes you can feel the texture of the wood and there is no protective covering.  I prefer to use oil on all my fine wood items, they age better, and you feel the warmth of the wood, not some hard plastic coating.   

My finishes are a combination of walnut and sunflower oil and are non-toxic while giving substantial soil and moisture resistance. They can be maintained occasionally with lemon or mineral oil.

If you want to feel the difference between an oil finish and the others, simply pull out your wood cutting board, it should not be sealed with anything other than food safe oil such as mineral oil.  You can feel the wood, if you pick up a piece of wood sealed with polyurethane you feel plastic.   

Now this is a very simple explanation.  And yes I know there are a lot more differences and a lot more information on all.  I just tried to keep it simple
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RE: What’s the difference between a lacquer, shellac,... - 1/24/2008 10:00:25 AM   
sub4agonia


Posts: 26
Joined: 1/22/2008
Status: offline 		Sorry, there was a part explaining how this applies to BDSM toys but it got cut out.

If your toys or BDSM furniture are going to be for private use.  I would go with an oil sealer, on paddles, stocks, St Andrews Cross, the feel of the wood is great.  Wood naturally fights infection.  So a simple wipe down and re-appling mineral oil every 6 month or when the wood looks dry is all you have to do.

Now if it is for a public play area (Pro Domme, fetish event) I would go for the poly.  It will stand up to the use and it is very easy to clean.  If custom work have them apply marine quality, in the long run it pays off. 

But for personal item, try some sealed with oil.  You will be surprised how it feels.

(in reply to sub4agonia)
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RE: What’s the difference between a lacquer, shellac,... - 1/24/2008 12:46:02 PM   
MisSue


Posts: 2
Joined: 1/7/2008
Status: offline 		I am quite annoyed to find that in the US clear and colored polyurethane finishes from the hardware store are unavailable. I am used to "Varathane" brand polyurethane available in Canada in a wide variety of finishes and colors. It is available for public use for hardwood floors, furniture etc...
I was told by one paint expert that this is due to the fact that no good recycling facalities exist in the US for such products

(in reply to sub4agonia)
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RE: What’s the difference between a lacquer, shellac,... - 1/24/2008 1:15:38 PM   
sub4agonia


Posts: 26
Joined: 1/22/2008
Status: offline 		In the USa it goes by the name Midwax and several others.  You can find them everywhere

< Message edited by sub4agonia -- 1/24/2008 1:16:42 PM >

(in reply to MisSue)
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RE: What’s the difference between a lacquer, shellac,... - 1/24/2008 2:03:21 PM   
Alumbrado


Posts: 5560
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: MisSue

I am quite annoyed to find that in the US clear and colored polyurethane finishes from the hardware store are unavailable. I am used to "Varathane" brand polyurethane available in Canada in a wide variety of finishes and colors. It is available for public use for hardwood floors, furniture etc...
I was told by one paint expert that this is due to the fact that no good recycling facalities exist in the US for such products


Don't know who told you that, but polyurethane finishes are widely available. Varathane is part of the Rustoleum line. Minwax also makes them.

(in reply to MisSue)
Profile   Post #: 5
RE: What’s the difference between a lacquer, shellac,... - 1/25/2008 9:16:28 PM   
Termyn8or


Posts: 18681
Joined: 11/12/2005
Status: offline 		Actually I have found polyuretheane to be substandard. What you can buy in the store is junk. The good stuff is alot more expensive.

There was one product that impressed by, it was two part like an epoxy. You use a propane torch to cure it. It is a mirror finish and is impervious to everything. In some ways it makes glass look like a sissy.

I can't seem to find the stuff anymore, but I do have one shelf finished with this stuff, and you couldn't pound a nail into it if your life depended on it. I saw the demo, and bought some. Did not use it for years, but finally decided to.

This stuff is so hard, you wouldn't believe. It is like the hardness of glass, but backed up so solidly by the wood that it is practically hammer proof. And it does not crack.

I finished a shelf with it that was made from two 2 X 10s. Some leaked in between on the concrete outside. As I attempted to grind it off, just as much concrete was coming off.

I wish I knew what this stuff was, because I would use it again. I have never seen anything this tough on a wood surface. If you wanted this on your floors, based on what I paid many years ago, it would not be cheap. But you just can't hurt this stuff, nor the wood underneath.

It was a two part clear acrylic. And I am telling you, if you put this stuff on your hardwood diningroom floor, you can drag car engines and transmissions across it and all you have to do is mop up. It is that tough.

Many many years ago it was twenty bucks for enough to do about fifteen square feet. I shudder to think what it costs now.

For the purposes of the OP, it might not be the best thing. It will not yield the feeling of wood. In fact this stuff strengthens the wood and it doesn't even creak the same. I guess this is a bit of a tangent, but I would really like to get my hands on a bunch of that acrylic stuff.

T

(in reply to Alumbrado)
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RE: What’s the difference between a lacquer, shellac,... - 1/25/2008 9:45:22 PM   
bindable


Posts: 64
Joined: 4/26/2007
Status: offline 		MisSue, Look a bit harder.  I recall selling it at the hardware store.  Check the deck care section (memory is fuzzy about brand)

(in reply to MisSue)
Profile   Post #: 7
RE: What’s the difference between a lacquer, shellac,... - 4/2/2008 11:59:17 PM   
SimplyMichael


Posts: 7229
Joined: 1/7/2007
Status: offline 		I have to clear up some misconceptions about wood finishes.

The solvents in Lacquer and shellac do not cure the finish, they disolve the solids (the stuff that makes the finish), as the solvent evaporates, the solids are left behind and form a film.  Apply solvent and the finish will again dissolve.

Urethane's come in a wide range of types and trade names, Minwax (which is crap) and Verathane (which isn't much better).   These finishes are solids that are also dissolved in a solvent however, after the solvent evaporates, the finish cannot again be dissolved by that solvent.  Thus the need to sand between coats.

"Satin" finishes, in fact, anything but gloss, are made by adding in glorified dust (silica usually) which is why thick coats look so plastic.  The trick is to  use all gloss but the last coat or learn to rub out finishes.

"foodsafe" is, more often than not, a marketing term.  All common Urethanes are toxic if  you drink them in their liquid form, however, once dry they are inert plastic.   Some oil finishes, especially "boiled" linseed oil and Watco Danish Oil have heavy metals added to them to speed drying, they stay toxic forever.

Oil finishes often aren't actually oil, they are a blend of small amount of oil and varnish dissolved in a lot of solvent.  They are the nasty ones that cause spontaneous combustion of rags.  Pure oil finishes provide very little moisture resistance and while pretty, are not durable.

Someone mentioned a "two part acrylic" which sounds like a catalyzed finish, not something most home craftsman use.  There are some products available like West Systems bar top finish.

If you want a polyurethane finish to have the warmth of an oil finish, put wax on it, not quite the same but better than just the poly.

I use General brand finishes, I first put Seal-a-Cell on to pop the grain, then Armor-Seal on over that.  Beautiful durable finish.

(in reply to bindable)
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RE: What’s the difference between a lacquer, shellac,... - 4/3/2008 4:10:45 PM   
SNoB


Posts: 145
Joined: 2/26/2008
Status: offline 		Also if you ever have any questions, just go to your local wood working store (wood working, not hardware, no one in home depot knows anything) and ask what type of finish works on with whatever wood you want to use.  No one said you have to tell them what it is you are making. 

(in reply to SimplyMichael)
Profile   Post #: 9
RE: What’s the difference between a lacquer, shellac,... - 4/3/2008 5:14:16 PM   
Phin


Posts: 1802
Joined: 2/26/2007
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: SNoB

no one in home depot knows anything

hey I resemble that remark, except for the not knowing anything

_____________________________

"Isn't wonderful when our bruises show what we hide in the back of our heads?"Fayetteville band, Nephilym

"He is my angel, my devil, my naughty boy, but above anything else my Master"My girl sin

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Profile   Post #: 10
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