About Button Shellac
About Button Shellac
Button Shellac has toughness and mar resistance that makes it the preferred shellac for finishing floors, interior woodwork, and for French polishing musical instruments. Buttons are produced by placing Seedlac into a long narrow cloth bag and heating one end over a charcoal fire. The other end is attached to a windless and is gradually twisted. The charcoal fire melts the lac which is forced out through the cloth by pressure. The molten lac is scraped off manually, drawn onto sheets and left to dry.
The production of Button Lac requires considerable manual skill and experience. Heat during processing polymerizes the shellac resin, resulting in a tough, abrasion- and moisture-resistant finishing material.
How Button Lac sits in the shellac family
Seedlac is the least-processed shellac. All other shellacs are made from this raw seedlac resin.
Button Lac has toughness and mar resistance that makes it the preferred shellac for finishing floors, interior woodwork, and French polishing musical instruments.
Waxy Shellac retains natural shellac wax — the wax content provides some flexibility and moisture resistance. Waxy shellacs are a good choice when the finish will be shellac only.
Use a Dewaxed Shellac for a universal sealer / primer and as a transitional coating between dissimilar finishes. Use a dewaxed shellac when the topcoat — for extra water and alcohol resistance — will be a varnish, lacquer, or urethane.
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