With the base finished it was time to tackle the top of the case.
I sanded one end and tried an oil finish on it and didn’t like the effect.
I tested this Homer Formby stuff out on the other end. Honestly, I thought it would be like the Engine Rebuild in a Can that J.C. Whitney used to sell. It’s promise was just too good to be true. But Ol' Homer worked like a miracle!
I didn’t get before and after pics of the outside of the case, but these are Before Homer and After Homer pics of the inside. I haven’t even put shellac on it yet.
I started applying the shellac on the outside. The first two coats were straight out of the can, applied with a sponge brush. Then I sanded out the brush marks and started applying the shellac with a cloth rubber. I can thank Zeke's Odd Job Fix videos for showing me how to do this. I used 800 grit paper lubricated with soapy water, which I don't think Zeke recommended, but it worked. Rather than ruin the "Singer" decal and try to find a replacement, I worked around it.
The next 10 or 12 applications were shellac thinned with alcohol applied with a cloth “rubber.”
I started cutting the shellac 50/50 and progressively added alcohol until it was about 20/80 shellac to alcohol.