F
28

Question about using a hair dryer to speed up shellac drying

I was finishing a small oak table last week and tried using my wife's hair dryer on the low heat setting to speed up a shellac coat. It dried way too fast and left a weird, cloudy finish that I had to sand back completely. I learned that shellac needs to dry evenly from the air, not forced heat. Has anyone else messed up a finish by trying to rush the drying time?
3 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In
3 Comments
the_olivia
the_olivia24d ago
Actually, a little gentle heat can be okay if you keep the dryer moving from far away. The cloudiness usually happens from the shellac getting cooked and gummy.
10
ruby310
ruby31024d ago
Learned that the hard way with a fan on low instead.
4
leo_black76
What distance did you try with the hair dryer?
3