Wood finish on early 1893 Parker GH?

[Cameron Thraen]

Thank you. These photos are quite helpful.

Looking at these photos I am inclined to think the finish is amber or perhaps garnet shellac without any other color added. I have read the excellent piece by Woodreaux on classical finishes (thanks for a fine piece) and the material by Ken61 concerning shellac. These do use alkanet red and Brian Dudley states he will sometimes add this in the final finish application. I am trying to decide whether I should add color to my shellac as I refinish my Parker forend.

As I am not familiar with using shellac as a gun wood finish I would appreciate any other views on this idea. My experience is limited to using orange shellac finishing on shooter gun boxes and such made from lighter wood such as maple with a final application of clear wiping varnish to provide a protective layer.

[Pa SxS]

French Polish is just shellac with a little oil applied to the pad to keep the pad from sticking to the wood when applied. Oil and shellac don't mix so only the shellac goes on the wood except if you use too much oil, Shellac dries almost immediately so when you complete one application, you can start again. Many applications can be put on in one day. Search the Internet for how to do french polish. I use amber shellac from Bullseye which can be thinned if needed. If you use flakes it needs to be cut down for the proper thickness.