after using mineral spirits and heat gun to remove cosmoline, kind of afraid of the wood drying out. is there something you apply to stop any possible future damage? thanks for all recommendations.
Is all/most of the shellac gone? A final rub down with Ballistol (or mineral oil, its main ingredient) will get rid of that dry whitish appearance that mineral spirits leaves behind after stripping all of the Cosmoline from the surface. Alternatively, you could hit it with the heat gun one last time and bubble out a bit more Cosmoline to rub around.
I like tung oil.
x2 Ballistol