pine trim finish

From: mike vagher
Date: 28 Apr 1999
Time: 17:47:43
Remote Name: 205.175.225.5

Comments

I have an old victorian house with southern yellow pine trim and doors. In two rooms the finish was a dark reddish-brown which obscured the grain. I was able to remove it easily with denatured alcohol and it seemed to have a darker layer on top with an amber layer below and I assume both layers were shellac with the top layer being a darker grade of shellac. Is this the correct assumption? Was this a common practice? It was too dark for my taste and will likely just finish with amber shellac but I am curious as to the original method.