Category: Furnishings

How to utilize Shellac on Woodwork and Doors

A favorite of French polishers and crafters alike, shellac is a fantastic go-to sealer for do-it-yourselfers who want an easy-to-use product for sealing and finishing wood. Shellac was once the normal sealer for architectural woodwork and inside doors. Whether you’ve got a grand Victorian manse or a modest, 1930s row home, you will discover shellac creates a warm, lustrous surface your neighbors will envy.

Shellac Basics

Shellac is a leaf secreted by the lac bug, a scale insect from the East Indies. The leaf is processed to shellac flakes, which can be dissolved in denatured alcohol for use. Some old-timers still purchase dry shellac flakes and mix them with denatured alcohol themselves. Prepared shellac has a one- to three-year shelf life. If the shellac isn’t fresh, test it by smearing some on a piece of scrap wood. If the shellac doesn’t harden by the morning after, don’t use it.

Prep Work

Prepare surfaces by cleaning them with a household cleaner and rinsing thoroughly. Use 220-grit sandpaper to smooth out rough spots and give the surface a scratchy finish. Wipe away dust with a damp cloth. If it is functional, remove doors and then place them on sawhorses or another horizontal surface for better control during program. Cover floors and neighboring objects using a drop cloth or a plastic tarp. Ventilate the room; use a fan if necessary.


Soak a broad, natural-bristle brush or a clean, lint-free cloth in the shellac and wipe away excess on the side of the container. Working with the grain, apply shellac with long strokes, working fast and always next to some “wet edge” to prevent marring a partly dried surface. If the shellac becomes sticky during program, thin it with denatured alcohol in a 1 to 1 ratio for the initial coat. The surface is prepared for a second coat once it dries hard in about one to four hours.


Use 320-grit seams between coats to smooth brush marks and then knock stray pieces of debris and dust. Employ multiple coats until you attain the richness and color you desire. Do not sand the last coat. To prevent conspicuous brush marks that go against wood grain, work first on members whose grain dissolves in other members. On a two-paneled door, for example, finish the panels first, then the horizontal top, middle and bottom rails, and ultimately the vertical stiles.

Other Uses

Should you need to stain your woodwork or doors, cut shellac to one third strength with denatured alcohol and use it like a staining sealer to prevent blotchy staining. When dealing with paint, white-tinted shellac, marketed as alcohol-based primer, prevents knots, resin deposits and waxy or oily spots from showing through the top coat. Use it to reduce rust on steel tools or to get quick touch-ups on woodwork and hardwood floors.

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The Tools Used for Applying a Water Based Floor Finish

In line with The Old House, polyurethane is the most popular finish for hardwood flooring. Water-based polyurethane is hard and durable, and it stays clear so the pure beauty of this wood isn’t changed. Water-based finishes dry fast and clean up easily, but also a smooth and lasting finish demands the use of many tools that are designed to make the process successful.

Planning and Protection

Prior to applying wood finish, there are a couple of items you will have to protect your eyes, skin and clothes. Wear latex or nitrile gloves to protect your hands, and safety glasses stop dust or complete from becoming into your eyes. A dust mask is also handy for protecting your lungs in sanding dust once you sand the ground between coats. Coveralls and protective slippers protect your clothes. Vinyl secured to walls, baseboards and adjacent flooring protects the areas encompassing the hexagonal polyurethane program.


The principal factor of the successful program of any type of wood finish is utilizing the proper applicator. Always use a synthetic applicator when employing a water-based finish. In terms of applicators, you may find one or more tools useful, such as a brush, roller, T-bar, or pad. T-bars are perfect for large flooring, while pads or rollers attached to rods are fine when finishing a small location. You will also need a paint tray, roller frame and rod help to generate application easier. In line with “Hardwood Floors” magazine, water-based finishes should not be implemented with China-bristle brushes or lambswool applicators since they are inclined to hold a whole lot of finish. While this is ideal for oil-based goods, water-based finishes are designed to be applied in thin coats. Synthetic applicators are perfect since they spread the end around and do not hold it.

Sanding and Finishing

A cut-in pad or a synthetic-bristle brush is useful for applying finish to the corners and edges of the ground, where rollers or T-bars can not achieve. Floor finishes require sanding between coats to make certain you get smooth results. A drum or belt sander is usually used to lightly abrade the ground between coats, but also a ground buffer using a maroon abrasive pad or extra-fine-grit sandpaper can also be used since it poses less chance of removing the preceding finish coats.


Sanding dust must be washed away before you are able to apply each coat of finish, therefore use a vacuum with a crevice tool and brush attachment to generate cleanup fast and simple. Tack cloths or a microfiber dust mop cleans the dust off the primary surface of the ground, while the vacuum gets it from their hard-to-reach places. Water-based finishes do not require solvents to wash your program tools and brushes. Simply use a damp cloth and water to wash applicators and eliminate any spills.

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How to Leak-Proof a Shower Base

A normal shower foundation is made up of one-piece fiberglass unit that’s installed on a subfloor or concrete bunker. If you notice moist or wet areas beyond the shower, it is time to leak-proof the foundation. Tile showers should be handled by a contractor that specializes in these installments. As long as the fiberglass foundation isn’t cracked or damaged you can leak-proof it at a relatively short time using substances sold at home centers and plumbing supply outlets.

Cut the wax of aged caulking around the upper edges of the base where it meets the walls, using a utility knife. Peel away and eliminate as much of the caulking as possible by hand. If necessary, use a plastic putty knife to remove irregular caulking from the base-to-wall seam.

Remove the bathtub drain grate by prying it out with a screwdriver. Alternatively, loosen and eliminate attachment screws with the appropriate screwdriver, and remove the grate.

Wear latex gloves. Wash the upper borders of the base where it meets the wall, using a bathroom cleaner or fiberglass shower base cleaner. Remove residual cleaner with clean rags and clean water. Allow the cleaned areas to dry completely before proceeding.

Install a tube of silicone-based tub and tile caulking from the caulking gun. Use the utility knife to cut the tip of the tubing and produce a 1/8-inch opening.

Start in one corner of the bathtub where the foundation meets the wall. Utilizing a consistent motion, apply the caulking from the seam where the old caulking was eliminated and move to the opposite end of the wall. Repeat this for the remaining walls.

Apply a modest amount of caulking in the outer borders of the opening where the drain grate was eliminated. Reinstall the grate.

Permit the sealant at the base of the walls to cure for one hour and then apply another layer in the seams.

Open the shower door, if there’s one, and remove the rubber seal in the underside of the doorway. To try it, grip one end of the seal with pliers and pull it out of the groove. Instead, use the appropriate screwdriver to remove a drip rail.

Install a rubber seal. Begin by applying a thin amount of spray lubricant on the outer borders. Insert 1 end into the channel in the inner edge of the shower door. Then grip the finish with the pliers and pull the seal till that finish aligns with the outer border of the doorway. Cut off any surplus in the inner border with a utility knife. Otherwise, put in a brand new drip rail in the base of the doorway, using the provided screws.

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How to Repair Old Linoleum Tiles

One of the various benefits of linoleum flooring that is authentic is this material’s nature. Unlike vinyl flooring which has a thin coating of color on top, the color of linoleum is over the flooring. Linoleum is made from linseed oil and other materials such as cork dust. Burns and scrapes often are superficial, and the floor’s water resistance might not be compromised by cuts. Unless there is a linoleum tile cracked or broken, most damage is repairable.

Burns, Yellowing and Small Scratches

Sand the spot by hand with sandpaper. You should replace the tile if the damage goes deeper than you can sand without even developing a divot.

Sand the spot again.

Buff the tile with a handheld orbital buffer and buffing pad.

Wipe the tile and then allow the tile dry.

Employ linoleum sealer on the tile with sponge or a rag.


Purchase a new linoleum tile at a shade that matches with the tile that is damaged as closely as you can.

Hold the tile over a sheet of newspaper and sand the edge of the tile with sandpaper. Collect the linoleum dust.

Squeeze glue into the cut the tile.

Cover the wet glue with a layer of linoleum dust from the newspaper. Instant glue dries very quickly, so work. Press down on top of the dust to pack it in the cut as much as possible.

Allow the cut that is patched completely.

Sand the fixed cut by hand then sand with ultra-fine sandpaper.

Buff the tile with a handheld orbital buffer and buffing pad.

Employ linoleum sealer on the tile with sponge or a rag.

Loose Tiles

Slip the edge of a pry bar under the edge of the loose tile.

Pry up the tile with pressure. Linoleum can break if too much pressure is applied.

Scrape glue the side of the tile off . Sand the glue off with with coarse-grit sandpaper if a glue remains.

Scrape old glue off the floor within the spot where you removed the tile.

Vacuum the floor where you scraped off adhesive and the rear side of the tile.

Linoleum glue on the rear of the tile with a trowel.

Put back into place. Put a flat object such as a massive book on top of the tile.

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