I was watching a show about old houses and they said something about shellac that clicked
It was a home renovation show set in Savannah, and the host pointed out a dresser with a 'bloom' on the finish. He said, 'That's not damage, that's just the shellac telling you it's been in a damp room for 80 years.' I always thought a cloudy finish was a failure you had to strip. Now I see it as a record of the piece's life, and sometimes you might want to keep that story. Has anyone else changed their mind about what counts as a 'flaw' in an old finish?