Club Obi Wan

I've recently decided to start experimenting with shellacing some of my kangaroo work. I've got a few questions for you guys out there who've been using shellac for a while.

Do you clean the leather in anyway or use a special braiding soap to ensure that the leather has clean, dry surface to apply the shellac? A greasy whip won't hold shellac, right?

Why were whips originally coated with shellac? I've heard that it acted as a waterproofing, although some people disagree with that idea. I figured that a shiny whip sells better than a whip with no extra finish.

Does shellac wear off and how fast does it wear off? I saw one of Chris Barr's intricate stockwhips in a saddlery in Wyoming and the shellac on the handle was cracking and pealing, probably due to excessive handling, or even improper application of the shellac.

Was there any shellac left on the Indy whips during filming? Couldn't you end up with a screen-accurate whip without putting shellac on it?

Thanks for any help.

-Adam Winrich, www.winrichwhips.com

PS: Does anyone have a source of strong black nylon for crackers. I bought some nylon thread at Walmart but I was disappointed with the durablity. Right now I use white mason's twine, but not everyone likes white.

Adam,

Try this for a good nylon thread source. I've been using it for crackers/poppers and I love it: http://www.indygear.com/forum/viewtopic ... ht=tip+tip
Thanks to Paul Stenhouse for the info.

As for shellac, can't help ya much there. I've only made one whip so far, and the shellac I used really seemed to help give it that "finished" look. I imagine it does help in water resistance, but it still allows leather dressing to pentrate, so I wouldn't call it "water proof."

I just gave my whip a light wipe down with a rag before application, and that was after I had covered it with a light coat of leather dressing too (waited 24 hours after the leather dressing). No flaking or cracking yet, it just wears off gradually I believe. Maybe the guy's whip you saw used a lacquer on the handle, since it's not an area of flex?

Make sure to apply thin coats of shellac, thinned about 50% with denatured alcohol (available wherever shellac is sold). 2 thin coats have worked well for me so far.

Best regards,
J