Daniel, you are 'da man!

Another interesting sidelight on the shellac.

The early pieces in California and Canada were made of a plaster based product and the paints just soaked into them. Pre-coating them before painting with shellac kept the paint from soaking into the porous castings. But it also meant that the pieces had to dry well before they could be shellaced and again dry before painting.

When production was shifted to Malaysia, the material used was different and which did not soak up the paint and didn't need the shellac coating.

The resin used in China is different from the material used in Malaysia resulting in improvements in color brightness as well.

And which WAS the first Harbour Lights product made in China? Newbies only, please...