Had a shellac finish turn milky on a humid day in my garage

I was finishing a small oak table in my garage in Atlanta last spring. The air got thick and the fresh shellac coat went cloudy right in front of me. I knew it was moisture trapped in the finish. I gently warmed the surface with a hair dryer on low, moving it constantly, and the cloudiness cleared up after about ten minutes. Has anyone else fixed a blush like this with a different method?

3 comments

3 Comments

val5541mo ago

That's actually called "blushing"... the moisture gets trapped under the finish. A hair dryer works in a pinch, but it can be risky on fresh shellac. You can heat it up too fast and cause other problems. Next time, try adding a few drops of denatured alcohol to a fresh pad and lightly go over the cloudy spot. The alcohol helps the shellac re-flow and release the moisture as it dries again.

the_kai1mo ago

Oh man, I've been there! I just waited a day for it to cure more and then hit it with another thin coat of shellac, that cleared it right up.

the_tyler1mo ago

I read that a bit of ammonia in water can fix that haze too.