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Please give me some advice about using Aqua Coat with shellac.

This is my first time using pore filler.

I want to use Aqua Coat because it seems non-toxic and easy to use.

I bought Aqua Coat and I want use it as a pore filler for rosewood body & mahogany neck.

I think that I use shellac finish (french polish) after pore filled.

So, I would like to know what is the best way of using Aqua Coat before finishing with shellac.

I read some reviews and now I think that it's better doing wash coat with dewaxed shellac.

http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/sho ... ng-Warning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sE9JewE2pc

I am planning to do 3 times wash coats with 1cut shellac before using Aqua Coat.

Then, I think I do 3 coats of Aqua Coat with no sanding in between.

I use LMI Dewaxed flake shellac very light transparent blonde color.

https://www.lmii.com/products/finishing ... -materials

Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Masato

I use Aqua Coat and your plan sounds good but I DO sand between applications of AC. It dries very quickly and sands pretty easy. I have used between 1 and 3 coats to get the pores filled (usually 2 coats does it for me). Ensure you sand it all off or it will leave a white spot under finish (don't ask me how I know:))

I'll put your advice to good use. Thanks a lot!

Masato

It works quite well. From my experience:

Let the Aqua-Coat dry thoroughly before sanding.
You'll need multiple coats.
Let the shellac dry thoroughly between coats.

Thanks for the awesome advice!

I'll make sure it doesn't go to waste.

I agree with the others. I used Aqua Coat on my last 2 guitars. For the White Oak, I had to do 4 applications, given the huge crater pores :-). I found it easy to use, sands easy, and didn't have any noticeable odor. I liked the fact that aqua coat can be used after or before dyes, and plays well with the dyes. I Dyed the wood, filled, sanded between coats, Applied shellac layer, then tru oil. So far, so good!

Glenn

Glen, you say you dyed, filled, then sanded between coats. Did you have a problem with sanding through the dye?

Ed

Hi Ed,

Geez, I am trying to remember the order i did this, and I guess I took lousy notes. I did have some issues sanding through in places, and having to re-apply dyes. I believe I dyed, then sprayed a few coats of shellac to seal. sanded the shellac as much as i could without removing dyes (nice thing about aqua coat is if you did sand thru, aqua coat will take the dyes as well to fix spots). once i had a shellac barrier, then I pore filled. Then applied another shellac barrier after pore filling, then Tru Oil (except top was French Polished)

On the sunburst top, i had a few areas i was not happy about wrt the sunburst dyes, so during the French Polish stages, I tinted some shellac, and fixed this areas, let dry, then did normal French Polish over, and it worked out great.

Glenn

Is the Aqua Coat water soluble as the name might suggest? Could it be applied first, then sanded back to raw wood, then the dye? I am looking for something that is more foolproof with my history of sanding mishaps.

Ed

ruby@magpage.com wrote:Is the Aqua Coat water soluble as the name might suggest? Could it be applied first, then sanded back to raw wood, then the dye? I am looking for something that is more foolproof with my history of sanding mishaps.

Ed

That's how I do it. Sand, pore fill, level, stain, seal, finish.