Retro Renovation» dining room

Amber Shellac: The classic finish for knotty pine — made from bug poop!

pam kueber — Tue, 22 May 2012 15:50:37 +0000

Got Knotty? Check out my new knotty pine blog

As far as I know, Amber Shellac has been and always will be the classic retro finish for knotty pine. Our grandpas and dads were putting this orange-honey-gold finish on their unfinished knotty pine back in the 1950 and 1960s — and the product is still available today as Bulls Eye Shellac, by Zinsser, which is a Rust-Oleum Company. Shellac is a very interesting product — one of its key ingredients is insect secretions — I think that means, bug poop. (And you know how poop history always interest me.) Read on.

According to Rust-Oleum:

Bulls Eye® Shellac is an alcohol-based solution of lac, a natural resin imported mainly from India, that is available in Clear and Amber tones. Clear shellac dries transparent with a faint, golden cast that is much lighter than oil-base varnishes, while amber shellac has a warm, orange cast that gives a rich, antique-look to woodwork. Bulls Eye Shellac has many advantages over other clear finishes: it’s easy to use, dries quickly, is non-toxic when dry and cleans up easily with ammonia and water.

Digging into the “lac” on the Wikipedia, we learn:

Lac is the scarlet resinous secretion of a number of species of insects, namely some of the species of the genera Metatachardia, Laccifer, Tachordiella, Austrotacharidia, Afrotachardina, and Tachardina of the superfamily Coccoidea, of which the most commonly cultivated species is Kerria lacca.

The above-mentioned families are some of the 28 families of scale insects and mealybugs comprising a large group of about 8,000 described species of plant sucking insects, a few of which produce similar natural products (e.g., cochineal and crimson). Thousands of these tiny insects colonize branches of suitable host trees and secrete the resinous pigment. The coated branches of the host trees are cut and harvested as sticklac.

The harvested sticklac is crushed and sieved to remove impurities. The sieved material is then repeatedly washed to remove insect parts and other soluble material. The resulting product is known as seedlac. The prefix seed refers to its pellet shape. It is used in violin and other varnish and is soluble in alcohol. This type of lac was used in the finishing of 18th-century fowling guns in the United States. Seedlac which still contains 3-5% impurities is processed into shellac by heat treatment or solvent extraction.

The leading producer of Lac is … India. Lac production is also found in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, parts of China, and Mexico.

…The use of lac dye goes back to ancient times. It has been used in India as a skin cosmetic and dye for wool and silk. In China it is a traditional dye for leather goods. The use of lac for dye has been supplanted by synthetic dyes. It is used in medicine as a hepatoprotective and antiobesity drug.

Back to knotty pine….I asked Rust-Oleum several questions about their shellac and also for their recommendations on cleaning knotty pine that already has a finish on it. They responded:

Q. Two finishes … and let’s talk “retro authentic”. Rust-Oleum Answer: We offer Shellac in a clear and Shellac in a traditional amber. The amber option is the one that will provide a warm amber-orange-ish color. It’s a personal preference whether or not you prefer the clear finish over the warm, amber finish. The classic Shellac does have that amber (a little orange-ish) tone, which is probably what you are referring to when you call it the “classic” or “patina” look. I would suggest using the amber option for a more retro look, but it’s a personal preference.

Q. Use a wood conditioner first? Rust-O A: If you are using Shellac on unfinished wood, wood conditioner is not needed. Wood conditioner is really only used on wood stains, not clear finishes including shellac.

Q. Is it oil or water-based? Rust-O A: Shellac is cut in alcohol with a little bit of water, but it is not considered water-base. When using a shellac, we suggest wearing gloves as its coating is extremely durable, hence you would not want to get it on your bare skin.

Q. Cleaning knotty pine that already has a finish: Rust-O A: In regards to cleaning, a slightly damp cloth should do the trick. Never saturate the surface with water, instead a cloth is best to avoid puddling. Also clear topcoats should not be cleaned with the following:

Any chemical cleaners with alcohol as an ingredient – it will may cause the shellac to gum up

Vinegar – contrary to popular opinion, the acid in vinegar will slowly etch the surface over time and ruin the sheen of the wood finish

Waxes and oil-based detergents: leave a sticky residue

Note: Clear shellac also can be used for a topcoat for wood trim, furniture and cabinetry. It’s not just for knotty pine.

Link:

Bullseye Clear and Amber Shellac – available in spray can and multiple sizes of liquid cans, from Zinsser/Rust-Oleum.

6 ideas to decorate a knotty pine room in classic retro style How to decorate a knotty pine den, basement, sunporch or...
Knotty pine love: Upload photos of your knotty pine rooms My office studio remodel is not the only project I...
Knotty pine kitchen and more – in this month’s Old House Interiors The August issue of Old House Interiors features a Catskills...

Malena makes glamorous black lacquer wall panels out of Acurio Lattice “Circles”

pam kueber — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 08:30:37 +0000

Malena saw my story about the mid century modern style lattice now available from Acurio Lattice, and she created these glamorous black lacquer wall panels using the Circles design. It sounds pretty easy and looks fantastic. Malena writes:

We moved into our 1982 1 1/2 story stone house in Oklahoma in February and immediately knew I wanted to do a rustic retro glam style. (The house provides its own rustic with the wood trim and stone work inside and out.) My dad made the 8 foot farm table for me, that crystal chandelier is from the 1950s, those chairs (once brown) are Drexel from 1966 (stamped on the seat bottom) which I painted red-orange. It’s an open floor plan, so on the other end is my living area. The house already had a lot of geometric patterns with all the wood trim and beams so I decided to add circles anywhere I could. I’d been wanting something to bookend the space visually so the Acurio Latticeworks circle lattice worked well as art panels for the walls. Thanks so much for that tip! They were WONDERFUL to work with. The corners were so bland before!

The inspiration for the dining room seat covers swirl is borrowed from the Vertigo poster (1958) which hangs in our “movie theater-styled” hallway.

On the living room side, I recently found the 1960s Chromcraft swivel scoop lounge chair on Craigslist, and the TV sits on two mid century buffet tables with a piece of black marble added on top to make it look like one big piece.The circle lattice panel definitely dresses up the corner. With three sets of french doors (used to be sliding glass but the previous owners replaced them, darn it!) the views are all trees, so it definitely has the feel of a nature-loving MCM home. It’s been fun renovating it. Thanks for your fab site!

Thanks!

Malena

I asked Malena how much the panels were and how she painted them. She responded:

Acurio recommended I buy them through Home Depot for cheaper shipping, but I did a change order at Acurio to get the size I wanted, 24×72. and the Circles pattern, which is not listed on the Home Depot site. They were $40 per panel, I believe, plus shipping. They come ready to paint. I spray painted them with black lacquer, and it was a bit challenging getting the insides of all the circles, but I wanted that sheen to it. They do come in different colors, but I wasn’t sure what color I wanted to paint them until I set them against the wall.

Funny — while I was on vacation I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota (among other stops). I noticed a similar idea in place behind the check-in counter (far right, above, against the flamingo pink wall). Here, the panel is placed horizontally — it runs quite wide.
.

Great job, Malena, your rooms look gorgeous — you have the touch for sure! Thanks for sharing! Read more about Acurio Latticeworks and their panel designs here.

Dave makes mid century modern wall panels for his living room for $250 David and Kristin have the eye for mid century modern...
Mid century modern lattice from Acurio Latticeworks After I wrote about Lynne and her vintage room divider,...
12 wall panels that look like brick and stone: I dig it! Yesterday was like Christmas in my kitchen. After talking to...

4 new Vintage Vera fabric designs for shower curtains, towels, tablecloths, aprons & more

pam kueber — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 08:31:11 +0000

Thanks to reader Kate H. for the tip that several vintage designs from Vera Neumann — “Vintage Vera” — are now on the shelves at Macy’s.

These colorful designs are available in shower curtains, towels, rugs and other bathroom accessories…

…as well as in tablecloths and tea towels.

What a Vintage Vera bonanza — of butterflies in Flights of Fancy… Poppies… Wild Flowers…. and Daffodils… – just what the doctor ordered to make us bright and happy for spring.

Oh, and as I write this — there’s a sale!

Links:

5 colorful modern shower curtains from DeNY Designs If you have a vintage bathroom with pastel color tiles,...
Bath towels, rugs and a nice selection of shower curtains from Restoration Hardware I was at the big mall yesterday and scooted into...
Vera Neumann dish towels from Crate & Barrel Thanks to reader Linda, who emailed me yesterday to let...