Probably about the same, it was 12 years ago.
I did 3 rooms in poly,
and 3 in shellac. the 3 in poly were dining, living and family room.
I have a ranch.
My 3 bedrooms and HALLWAY were going to be a problem for poly. I needed
to get to the bathrooms. And poly's one day to dry per coat was not
going to allow us to live there. Shellac would allow me to finish the
job in one day, and be able to walk to the bathroom an hour after
application in socks.
The HALLWAY takes the most abuse... and has exceeded expectations.
It has exceeded the poly too.
Which would I do next time in the family , dining and living room?
Shellac. No questions about it. Even if longevity winds up being 1 year
less. I have 12 years on both now. The ease of finish is about the same.
You need to work a little faster with Shellac to keep a wet edge.
For both I used lambs wool applicator... Poly keep the lambs wool in a
saran wrap... Same for shellac, or keep it in shellac... or clean with
alcohol...
For poly apply wait a day, sand nubs, vacuum, apply, wait a day. sand,
vacuum, apply.. 4 days for 3 coats.
For shellac, apply, light sanding in 3 hours, vacuum, apply, apply,
apply, wait until fully cured, and either sand or use a green
scotchbrite. Can't use scotchbrite with poly. its too hard (I guess
that goes to the hardness issue). The first sanding is necessary for
nubs. Whatever was not picked up by vacuum.... But after your just
building coats. It dries so quick that you don't need sanding each
time.. the dust won't settle in like poly.
Either poly or shellac are good finishes, but I don't see the big
advantages to poly.
Which looked better when done. Both, they both look awesome when done.
Over time they both wear and lose their sheen. With shellac I can get
most of look back with a maroon then white scotchbrite. Not with poly.
It won't pop back up. Is it oxidation, just scratches not being able to
be rubbed out??? I don't know.