I was using the wrong brush for shellac for years and didn't know

I was finishing a walnut table for a client in Boise and the finish kept getting these tiny bubbles no matter how careful I was. My buddy came over, looked at my $20 synthetic brush, and just laughed. He said shellac needs a natural bristle brush because the alcohol in it makes synthetic ones act weird. I switched to a cheap ox hair brush and the next coat went on smooth as glass. What other basic tool mistakes have you guys made that seem obvious now?

3 comments

3 Comments

skylerb5327d ago

Funny how the wrong tool can mess you up for ages. My dad was a painter and I watched him fight with a cheap roller for a whole weekend on a ceiling. It left this awful fuzz everywhere. He finally caved and bought the good kind, the one he said was a waste of money. The difference was stupid, like night and day. Sometimes you just have to pay for the thing that actually works.

bell.felix27d ago

That shellac thing is a classic. The alcohol just melts the glue in cheap brushes. Been there. For oil finishes, using a cheap foam brush was my mistake. It leaves bubbles and falls apart. A decent natural bristle brush for oils makes it lay down right. It's not about the price, it's about the right material for the chemical.

nora_webb5127d ago

My neighbor spent three months trying to edge her garden with a dull pair of hand clippers, just hacking away. I finally showed her my sharp bypass shears and she almost cried. It's the same thing, you get used to the fight and forget there's a tool that makes it EASY. People will struggle for years with the wrong thing because it's what they have.