oldmanquilts

Not true. You can't lump all poly's into the same group.

Shellac is going about it the hard (old) way, and the finish won't be nearly as nice if the application isn't near perfect. Shellacing is more labor intensive and not nearly as forgiving. There's a better option in terms of appearance and durability.

Wipe On Poly (satin) from Min-Wax. Pour a little onto your work and rub into your wood with a cloth until nearly dry. Second coat can be applied (direct w/o sanding) when dry, which is normally about an hour in good conditions. Subsequent coats dry quicker than the first if you want more than two. I sand only to remove any dirt/dust in the finish- using a fine Scotchbrite. This is usually not necessary as the hand rubbing pretty much eliminates the dust, unless you are drying in dusty conditions. Brushed on shellac will have dust which then needs to be removed. Shellac application requires a fair bit of experience to eliminate the dry areas at the end of strokes. Not so with the hand rubbed poly.

This finish is really close to a hand rubbed oil piece. No grain fill like you would imagine with a sprayed two-part poly. I've used it for restore's and new custom pieces. The only drawback is that it "yellows" the new woods slightly. In that case sprayed lacquer is the answer.

Try a small piece using both products. You'll put that shellac back on the shelf.