THE PREPARATION
First of all, you must sand the wood with very fine sandpaper, starting with 180, then 220, then 320 grain. A good thing to do is to moisten the wood with lukewarm water, to raise its surface and then, when it is dry, sand it down with a 400-grain sandpaper. Moistening the wood allows you to spot defects and little scratches that would be barely visible to the naked eye.
Then, close the wood’s pores with water-based plaster, with pumice, with glue or any other material you want. Someone prefers to lubricate the sanded surface to give more depth to the paint. That surely that enhances the wood’s grain and flamed patterns and it also makes the final appearance of the paint more pleasing to the eye, but I personally believe that this passage is to be avoided, especially for beginners, since a poorly cooked or impure oil may dry unevenly or create spots that could ruin all the work. Anyway, the amount of oil should be very limited. After a few minutes of drying you are then ready to begin to rub in the shellac.
The shellac must be dissolved in alcohol in order to be applied. Typically the ratio is one part of shellac for ten parts of alcohol but is not a fixed rule, because other pros use different proportions. Pour the alcohol and shellac in a glass jar, close tightly and shake it vigorously. Continue to stir for about ten minutes, then place the jar near a heat source (a stove, or under the sun). Remember to shake the jar every now and then, and if you have followed the procedure correctly, you’ll find that the shellac will be almost completely dissolved, on the following day. Filter it through a cloth and you’re ready to begin.
