: I've always associated shellac (used in French Polishing) with a
: tendency to "blush" a whitish color. This may be due
: to insufficient sealing so the water gets underneath.

: It's probably what they call a 3 lb cut, which is a measure of the
: amoung of shellac solid to solvent. The heavy stuff is at least
: a 8 lb cut, for sealing between veneers it's as heavy as can be
: brushed so maybe has even more solid content. According to Harry
: Bryant it is very hard to get the thick stuff but easy enough to
: buy the regular 3 lb cut and add the shellac flakes. Home Depot
: supposedly carry the flakes, but tehre are several different
: types of shellac (wax-free, garnet, etc) and I don't know which
: one is best for boats.

Generally used in bigger boats the shellac and more normally heavy bodied paint was used as a sort of semi-flexible sealant between two layers of planking. These boats didn't swell and contract like more normally planked ones so took much less pumping to get them tight when first launched. The shellac/paint eventually dries out so the swelling is the only thing keeping them water tight, so required very snug joints when planking.

Real fun putting on two layers of planking one over the other and hiding all those nice tight seams on the first layer.

Bill H.