I am refinishing the hardwood floor in a bedroom. It was originally finished with shellac, and I'm thinking of using shellac again, rather than taking the standard polyurethane route. I'd be using unwaxed shellac. I find shellac easier to work with, it doesn't have toxic fumes like polyurethane does and it seems environmentally friendlier.
Is there any good reason not to do this? I know shellac doesn't stand up to moisture as well as polyurethane, but I don't anticipate that being a big issue in this bedroom. I also know (from experience) that it's a pain to sand shellac off of a floor, but it's not impossible, and I don't anticipate it being my problem when it comes time to redo this floor in the distant future.
Best Answer
I can think of two good reasons not to use shellac.
Because you do not want to deal with the fumes of oil based polyurethane, I'd recommend using water based polyurethane. (It is only the oil based that has the real nasty fumes.)
You get much better durability, (not as good as the oil based) it is pretty easy to apply, and it dries quickly (not as fast as shellac).
It is kind of the best of both worlds. It has some of the strength of oil, and the low fumes like shellac.