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as I understand it, a spit coat is simply called that because it is a thinner cut of shellac which will be applied and then wiped off. not creating a heavy layer, but rather a spin coat/thin coat on the pipe

I've used spray shellac a couple times but always wiped the pipe down after with grain alcohol because like Sas said, it's way too thick. The goal is to set the stain not as a final coat.

I don't have numbers handy, but a lot of the commercially mixed stuff is either a 3 or 4 lb cut, which is pretty heavy. It is sort of like the polyurethane people buy at the store, put on their work, and wonder why it is so plastic looking. It was designed to be thinned. Commercial spray shellac is a waste in my humble opinion, if one is doing anything important.

A spit coat is nothing more than a 1 lb cut. There isn't a whole lot to wipe off because you didn't put a whole lot on in the first place. For the vast majority of people out there, it is the thinnest cut used. Anything thinner is just a waste of time and alcohol. Woodworkers use it to seal wood, and some I know who do reproduction work use it exclusively to build the finish slowly. It also makes a good base for French polishing. I suspect it would work well for setting the stain on a pipe, but I do not know for sure, since I have never tried it. Perhaps I will on the next one.

Spraying shellac can be a pain, since the nozzle of the gun can clog up easily. But if you do it right, it is wonderful. I have sprayed furniture before, but never something small like a pipe. Brushing it is a little easier, especially for smaller jobs, and you don't even have to clean out the brush when you are done. Just let it dry and get hard. That actually protects the bristles. Then, when you are ready to use it again, soak it in some alcohol or even a shellac mix, and within a minute or so it is ready to go again.

Spit coat is about a 1# or 1/2# cut of shellac.

andrew