Tar and bug remover - ok next time. It isn't a very big spot - I caught on pretty quick. I did get rid of the tar.

I am trying what you said to get the old coat off but it is not working . Do you have any other suggestions??

Donna, what machine are you trying to remove the clear coat? This method only works if the clear coat is shellac. You may have a lacquer coat instead of shellac. A pic would be nice.
Skip

Good Job She's a real beauty

It's amazing. And needs a well ventilated area. Woah.

Thank you Glenn for another great tutorial. A lot of very good information in here.
Thanks again,
Rodney

Dear Glenn,

I have purchased some shellac, white/clear in the powder/flake form. That is, for those of you who don't know (which included me until a few hours ago), the flake shellac is normally orangey, and a bleaching process makes it white when in dry form, clear when applied and cured. Apparently this also makes the flakes turn powdery. Glenn, am I right so far?

So, my question: the recipes for mixing up with methylated spirits are in 4-pound or 2-pound concentrations. I probably only want 1/4 cup if the stuff... Glenn, can you give me an idea as to how much powder to mix with how much alcohol in order to get a desirable consistency for sewing machine shellac coat?

Also, I don't recall whether you specified this: in applying the Nice Coat (that is, the finish; not the initial smoothing-out coat), would you use a fine brush? Or another method?

Thanks in advance.

Cecilia.

Cecilia, You are right on the shellac flakes. Take a 1/4 cup of denatured alcohol and put in a small bottle with a lid. Now drop in a tablespoon(an overloaded tablespoon) of shellac into the alcohol. Shake and let sit for about an hour then shake again. It should be thickness of sewing machine oil if not add a little more shellac and shake. I apply all coats with the french polish method. Do not brush on shellac or you will end up with brush strokes in the finish. After the last finish coat let the shellac cure for about two weeks then you can wax the machine with a coat of car wax(the stuff without the cleaner just wax) BTW did you find out what the oil was from Lee Valley?
Skip

That's amazing!!!

Thank you Glenn!

So, just to clarify; Step One, where you do the alcohol + oil to smooth out the bumps; this is indeed only to re-activate the old shellac and blend in the ridges where some has chipped away, correct? So, there is no need to do this elsewhere, just where there are ridges?

And no, even the guy at Lee Valley did not know what was in the Circa 1850 bottle. I will post a photo later and you can see. :-)

Very excited to begin tackling this machine today!

Also, when you say you do the French Polish method on the shellac application; thanks for the tip not to use a brush. Would you recommend cheesecloth, old t-shirt, or anything in particular for this part of the equation?

Oh, one more thing: I am do the Alcohol+ oil smoothing, then the naptha, then a coat of shellac all in the first day, yes?

And then wait tow weeks before polishing further? Yeesh, this will test my patience!

Do you generally find that only one coat of shellac is enough? I will read your tute again; perhaps this was in there. So, don't answer if I have just asked a redundant question. OH, great gobs, if more than one coat is required, would I need to wait two weeks between EACH COAT? Oh no oh no oh no!!!! :-) Patience patience patience!