I use shellac when I need a gloss finish, it works best for me as it flows into the fretwork that I cut.

I have a new (to me) issue. I just finished a name plate for a friend of a friend, and when I applied the finial coats of rattle can shellac the finish pulled away from the sides, but not the top or bottom.

Any ideas what went wrong and how to prevent this in the future?

Arr, I had to use my phone to get a good zoomed picture of the issue:

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by Wichman3

That last picture helped me understand what you were describing. Honestly I have no idea what caused that, but I think I would take a cloth soaked in DNA and try to rub the shellac back into that edge area. If it did the same thing on the back, you might try it there (just in case) to see if it works. Maybe someone else will have a better idea.

Shellac is supposed to be a good sealer and is often used to prevent such occurrences in other finishes. That is unusual and something I have never seen before,

Entire finishing schedule:

superglue as a light coating to stabilize stress fractured, brittle wood.

sanded the piece down to bare wood, superglue impregnated wood .

dipped in 50/50 diluted shellac, sanded with 200 grit.

I couldn't get the finish as smooth as I wanted so I bought a fresh can of spray shellac.

Several coats of spray shellac, the finish looked good with no pulling away from the edges. After allowing to dry in the sun for several hours I brought the piece into the house, finish still looked good.

Placed the piece above a furnace vent, several more hours until I turned up the furnace for the night. In the morning I could see the finish pulled away from the edges.

I have used the furnace technique many times in the past without any issues, the warm air fully cures the shellac to a very hard state. I have used a non-contact thermometer to check the temp of the finish, it gets to be about 92*, but no higher.