Club Obi Wan

I'm nearing the end of completing my first/practice whip and was wondering a bit about shellac. It's been brought to my attention that many whipmakers use it as a final finish coat on their whips.

Are there any particular sorts of shellac folks around here like? As an alternative, has anyone tried Neat-Lac from Tandy or a similar product?

Any comments and insights would be welcome.

Best regards,
Jace

Jace,
to tell you the truth, i hate that gunk. It takes a while to
put on and it comes of quickly afterword. It also
makes the whip look plastic not like leather.
Adam

Jace,

Most use a product such as Bullseye Shellac, and you can get it in clear or amber. The amber will be darker when dried.

Dilute the shellac about 50/50 with denatured alcohol. Mix well, and then apply with a soft lint-free cloth. Put it on a thin coat, let it dry completely, and then roll the whip on your rolling surface. nother thin coat and another good rolling. It doesn't take much.

The Saddle-Lac products and the Leather Sheen products can be used on the handle since they don't flex much.

Adam is correct, it will flake off after a while, but you can always put another coat on.

It gives the whip that professional finished look, and also helps protect it from drying out. You can use conditioner over the shellac as the leather is not sealed as such. The conditioer will work its way through the shellac.

Jerry R

jerry,

Ive been doing it all wrong then. Ive been painting it on .

Adam

Excellent advice, thank you all very much. I'll give it a try on my practice whip and see how it goes. Sounds like it's a feature that's "admired, but not required" 'eh?

check out my thread...it talks a lot about comparing colors of shellac :

http://www.indygear.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8489

Got Maul wrote:check out my thread...it talks a lot about comparing colors of shellac :

http://www.indygear.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8489

Thanks bud, it was actually your thread that got me to start this one.

Beyond that and this thread, I just got David Morgan's new book in which he talks a bit about shellac too, so that was helpful.

its funny...I was talking to Joe STrain and it seems like Cooler king got the AMBER shellac and NOT the clear shellac like I originally thought. Joe sent me this sample the other day :



Far left is untreated, middle is Amber, far right is clear

This is all on natural leather.

I went for the clear after seeing this test. Amber does darken btw, but so will all the other whips. I based my choice on the Pat Roach fight whip.

Hope that helps !

I use spray shellac in an aerosol can. Not sure what the brand is because I'm not home right now. Just hang the whip up, shake the can and spray away. When it flakes off and you want to spruce it up, just spray on another coat.

I shopped around several stores before I found it, so I don't think its really popular.

Thanks mucho. Spray would be nice, but I'd make a big mess with it I'm afraid. I went with the amber stuff in a can and got some denatured alcohol to thin it. Just need to attach the handle strap and tie the Turk's heads, then I'll be a shellac-ing maniac.