Oil based wood stain Compatibility Question

I apologize it this is posted somewhere. I couldn’t find it discussed, but here’s the question:

Can one use an oil based wood stain such as Minwax, let it dry, apply shellac let it dry, then apply nitro lacquer?

I have a body that I stained with oil based stain. I’d like to finish it in clear nitro lacquer with shellac as a barrier between the stain and nitro.

Is that acceptable / compatible? I just don’t want to use polyurethane, I have a lot of nitro clear on hand and I like it better.

Thanks.

Yes. I plan on doing the same with one of my guitars. If you google “nitrocellulose lacquer over shellac” there are tons of hits saying it’s a good combo.

As always, whilst the theory says OK, it’s best to test on scrap wood for any possible reaction first. The shellac will have a solvent which could free some of the underlying stain, even if only a few spots, so it might be worth testing nitro straight on top of the minwax first. The minwax is likely to have a poly sealer mixed in, so it could be OK on its own. Whilst there are generic replies to the question, so much depends on the actual chemical composition of the stain formula if not a straightforward water or spirit-based stain. One company may add a small amount of something that does cause a reaction, whilst another uses something that doesn’t.

Plus the solvent in nitro is pretty powerful stuff itself, so is very likely to get through a thin layer of shellac.

Test on scrap - yeah, I’ve heard that before!....Now, that’s a good idea. I’ve got a body (non-PitBull) that’s ready for either:

Schellac and lacquer

Or

Minwax poly.

As stated, I don’t want poly so a scrap test is a good idea.

Wow...the more I think about it, the more sense it makes just to use Minwax poly as recommended.


Once I went down the oil-based stain path, I think I’d better just stay on it with oil based poly. If after all this work, something went wrong and I’d have to start over....I think might actually smash the thing with a sledgehammer!

(Ok, I probably wouldn’t, but I’d think about it!) 😡

FWIW, I just hit the body with 3 coats of poly from a rattle can. I really wanted to use shellac and nitro but was too worried about incompatibilities.

Unless it really deadens the sound of the body, I am beginning to like the poly idea. It turned out ok so far!

Attachment 37297

Attachment 37298

It’s more about the thickness of the coat than the finish used that deadens body resonance.

Looks good!
Oil based stain and poly is certainly a safe, tried and true combination.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by McCreed

Looks good!
Oil based stain and poly is certainly a safe, tried and true combination.

---

Thanks, McCreed!

That clear coat went on so well, I’m considering re-spraying a bass I finished in acrylic lacquer.

I haven’t done any research on it yet but I thought I’d ask....can one use polyurethane clear over acrylic?

Usually fine so long as the acrylic is completely cured.

Which means waiting a few weeks, not days, if you are doing it as a new build. But an old finish will be fine. Sand it over with say P240 so that it can key into the surface (or it may not adhere that well), and I’d then give it a good wipe over with naptha (lighter fluid) and a clean cloth, just to remove any possible contaminants from the surface.

TTBOMK the general and (accepted) rule is:

lacquer over poly = OK
poly over lacquer = NOT OK

The reason being that lacquer (even acrylic) gases of for months (years?) and if covered in poly, those gases can't pass through and will lift the poly. As with any questions about finish compatibility, test on a scrap piece before your guitar.