Finally gave up on my old brush for shellac and the difference is night and day

For years I used a standard 2-inch nylon brush for applying shellac, thinking a brush was a brush. Last week, I finally spent the $18 on a proper badger hair brush from a local woodworking shop. The first coat on a maple dresser showed me I was wrong. The badger holds way more finish, lays it down smoother, and leaves almost zero brush marks. My old brush would start to drag after a few strokes, but this one kept a wet edge across the whole panel. I used to need three thin coats to avoid streaks, but with this, two were perfect. I wasted so much time fighting my tools. Has anyone else made a simple switch that saved a ton of headache on a finish?

2 comments

2 Comments

fiona1303d ago

Badger is great, but just fyi, shellac brushes are usually called "fitch" or "squirrel" hair. Badger is more for oil based stuff. Still, any natural hair is a huge upgrade from nylon.

faitha403d ago

So what do you use for water-based finishes then?