There are several ways to apply shellac and in this video I "padded" it on with a cotton cloth. In my Nakashima inspired wall shelf video I applied shellac with an ox hair brush and actually prefer the brush on larger areas than padding though using a brush brings its own learning curve. To pad it on, just simply wipe it on the surface and don't play with the finish too much. Keep it thin and wipe with the grain.

I applied a coat every 1-2 hours, for a total of 3 coats in 1 day(depending on your temperature and humidity).