Shellac - Colors and Availability

Colors and Availability

Shellac comes in many warm colors, ranging from a very light blond ("platina") to a very dark brown ("garnet"), with many varieties of brown, yellow, orange and red in between. The colour is influenced by the sap of the tree the lac bug is living on and by the time of harvest. Historically, the most commonly sold shellac is called "orange shellac", and was used extensively as a combination stain and protectant for wood paneling and cabinetry in the 20th century.

Shellac was once very common anywhere paints or varnishes were sold (such as hardware stores). However, cheaper and more abrasion- and chemical-resistant finishes, such as polyurethane, have almost completely replaced it in decorative residential wood finishing such as hardwood floors, wooden wainscoting plank paneling, and kitchen cabinets. These alternative products, however, must be applied over a stain if the user wants the wood coloured; clear or blond shellac may applied over a stain without affecting the color of the finished piece, as a protective topcoat. "Wax over shellac" (an application of buffed-on paste wax over several coats of shellac) is often regarded as a beautiful, if fragile, finish for hardwood floors. Many luthiers still use shellac to French polish fine acoustic stringed instruments, but these purists are rare now, as shellac is replaced by synthetic plastic lacquers and varnishes in many workshops.