Shellac As A Sanding Sealer?

[mikhailgtrski]

I'm planning to use a couple of coats of Zinsser Sealcoat as a washcoat over my dye, then skip the sanding sealer step and go straight to the lacquer clearcoat.

But I had a thought... does it make sense to use the shellac like a sanding sealer to build up and level things out before spraying the clear, or is lacquer better suited for this?

Thanks for your input,

Mike

[Phil Mailloux]

You can't really build up shellac easily, it sounds like your Zinsser sealcoat will do the job shellac is usually used for. I just start building up with clear lacquer after my seal coat. You can very easily build up and level things out as you go with clear lacquer. The advantage of lacquer is that it melts all your sanding scratches in your previous coats when you apply a new layer.

What I usually do. I spray 3 or 4 coats of lacquer per day with at least an 1 to 2 hours wait between the coats, then let is sit overnight. In the morning I sand my coats flat then go on with the 3 coats for that day until I built up a thick (and flat) enough layer after several days of shooting. I let it sit for 3-4 weeks before I finish sand and buff.

[mikhailgtrski]

Thanks, Phil. That's kind of what I thought.

[erikbojerik]

Will nitro "bite back" or melt into the shellac?

[Mattia]

Will nitro "bite back" or melt into the shellac?

Dunno, actually. Shellac adheres to pretty much anything, and most all finishes adhere to shellac, including nitro and the waterbased finishes I've tried.

You have to try hard to get a thick coat of shellac on there, and if you're sanding down that far when levelling, you're looking at a refinish anyway.