Shellac is typically used by people who work with wood to give the final product an elegant finish.

It improves the beauty of your furniture without causing any damage to the wood.

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You may want to add color to shellac if the surface in question is already coated with clear shellac and you want to touch up the finishing.

This can be done by mixing amber and clear shellac to get a color that resembles the shellac finish. This method of adding color to shellac is normally employed when an old floor is being renewed.

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This leads us to the first method of adding color:

Amber shellac can be used to add color.

To lighten the shade, you add clear shellac to it, and to deepen the shade, you add more amber shellac to the mixture.

Ensure that you shake the mixture well and incorporate the shellac completely.

Brush the mixture on a separate (preferably disposable) surface and check the color. If there is a difference between the new and the old shellac coat, add more amber or clear shellac to get the color you want.

Other materials that can be used to add color to shellac are:

Alcohol-based stains and dyes can also be used to add color to shellac.

If you want a blue/dark green color, you should add a black stain to amber shellac. And if you want to impart an intense color to the shellac, you can use a dye or stain to achieve the desired result.

Universal colorants are used to add a dark shade to shellac. Up to 6 oz of a universal colorant is added to each gallon of shellac.

You should mix the shellac well so that the colorant can dissolve completely. To ensure thorough mixing, use a mechanical shaker.

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Shellac has the great feature of matching the previous coating, making it the perfect material to fix superficial scratches and blemishes on wooden furniture or surfaces.

You can get shellac in different colors, like amber, garnet and clear; these can get combined in different proportions to give the desired color. You can also use different dyes or stains to produce nearly any color you want for your shellac.

You can read more about this topic here.

Now you know the best ways to color shellac. Which one will you choose?

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