I just put some Newbaum's tape on my bars a week ago. It has faded a bit and gotten some dirt. My two questions to the shellac experts:
Have I waited too long already?
Will it take so long to dry that my bike will be out of commision for a day?
Thanks,
Joe

It'll take a while to do, especially with multiple coats. It's going to change the feel of the tape, maybe for the worst. I think it looks nice, but I can't say I love the feel.

Shellac, being alcohol based, dries very quickly, but I'd give it at least a day to dry. You could try to clean off the dirt with some soapy water and a brush, but let it dry thoroughly if you do, or just try brushing it off with a stiff, dry brush. Faded already? After only a week?

In my experience, you can re-coat after about an hour, but you'll want to leave it overnight before you ride it. So you can probably do a couple coats without putting your bike out of commission in any real way.

I agree with mkeller - I prefer the feel of raw tape, but I've gotten used to shellac. I only put on 3 or 4 coats though.

I would imagine your fade/soil will even out and disappear with a couple coats of shellac. The treatment will certainly make the tape last longer.

Do it at night. One coat every hour or so. I use 3 or 4 coats. Some people use more, but I don't like it to get super shiny. I can ride it the next day, no problem.

FANTASTIC. Thanks guys. I am not much of a feel guy. I've done cork, ribbon, and cloth all for aesthetic and neither ever bothers me as far as comfort. One last question then, I am going to wrap my wife's bars sometime this week also with cloth, her levers do not have hoods. Any tips for making that look best? I tried to do an image search on google but was fruitless.

Some folks take a double wrap around the base of the lever bodies right next to the bar wraps.

Another thought....I have not done it with Newbaums, but with other cloth tape - Soak the cloth tape (non adhesive type) in hot water and apply while wet. When it dries it shrinks and will be nice and tight. After it dries completely, then do the shellac as others have mentioned.

Cheers,

Joe

If your wife likes to ride on the hoods, I would first wrap a bit of scrap cork tape around the lever base, then cover that with cloth tape, letting the ends of the tape extend so they'll be covered by the bar wrap. Then wrap the bar. You'll probably need an extra roll of tape to do this. Also, +1 on pre-soaking the tape in warm water. It really does make the tape lay down much easier.

letting the wrap get dirty before shellacking is good, it gives it more character, then again, i like my bars looking pretty hoboish