I went with clear shellac so we'll see how this goes. So far I have learned that "clear shellac" is not completely clear. No matter how many times you check the box over for any missed spots you WILL find at least one when you have the shellac already in progress. NO, you cannot paint on the shellac and stick a piece of paper over it and then shellac on top-it just doesn't lie flat like you were hoping. And also, if your paper has edges that tore thinner but it looked fine after you glued it-it will look translucent after using the shellac. Also it has worked for me to put the brush in a zip lok bag between coats so I didn't have to clean it. After 2 coats today i will probably clean the brush and let it all dry and then take a look tomorrow and decide if I want to glue more paper on the thinner spots or if it needs another coat of shellac.