Epoxy over shellac?

Hiya, I'm building a box made of lacewood to house my Grandfather's urn as he passed away yesterday. This will ultimately be buried and quite frankly, it probably doesn't matter to a soul but me, I would like the box to remain intact for as long as possible. I'm considering the following for finishing: BLO, then Shellac (prolly garnett or orange although I do have some blonde here somewhere) and was thinking epoxy would give me the best protection. Can epoxy be put over Shellac and remain there? I've heard of epoxy peeling from oil but with shellac in the middle, I was curious.

I know asphalt or tar would probably be the ticket but that kind of ruins it doesn't it? Anyway, thanks very much for your inputs. Cheers, cc

Reply to
James Cubby Culbertson
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My sympathies for your loss and no offense, but aren't you kind of over engineering this finish thing?.

Just how much use, moving, handling, and, abuse do you think the box, given it intent, is going to get.

However, use dewaxed shellac and you should be fine.

Reply to
Mike G

My sympathies on your loss.

How about a lacewood veneer over a teak box ? Inherent rot resistance in the timber beats any finish you can apply. OTOH, oily teak is a little tricky to veneer - degrease the surface with dichloromethane (Nitromors paint stripper) first

How about copper or lead sheet sheathing over a wooden box with a decorative inner ?

Or (to be brutally blunt), how about scattering the ashes and _planting_ some timber there as a memorial ? I'd rather remember my loved ones through a memorial like that, than some hidden sepulchre.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

Thanks Andy for the inputs. Ashes won't be scattered per his wishes however I will be planting a few trees in his honor at my home.

Reply to
James "Cubby" Culbertson

Yup. And as I said, it probably doesn't mean a thing to anyone but me. I was looking at epoxy to just preserve the box and ultimately, the urn for a bit longer. cc

Reply to
James "Cubby" Culbertson

First, my condolences.

As far as a finish is concerned, use NOTHING but laminating epoxy.

Totally encapsulate the wood in 3-4 coats of epoxy and you are good to go.

Yes, that means both inside and outside of box.

If the box were to be left out in direct sunlight, UV damage would be a consideration, but that does not appear to be a problem in this situation.

BTW, the bulkheads on my boat (fiberglass over plywood) were built using similar techniques.

HTH

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

Reply to
Rick Samuel

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