Sound's to me like you did everything right so there must be a wildcard in the deal. The "crinkle/alligatoring"sound's exactly like what happens when lacquer is applied over poly or oil base paint. (The blush fix base is slow lacquer thinner) Did you put the original finish on or is it possible someone applied something other than lacquer on bracket during a repair?

The blush eliminator worked fine on the larger, flat side of the piece, though, and the haze on the edge was clearly the same as on the other pieces.

I’m sorry I didn’t explain fully in the first place. I made the shelving pieces to begin with. They will go INSIDE an existing vintage Japanese lacquer cabinet that needs additional shelves. I chose gloss black lacquer in the attempt to match the finish inside the original cabinet.

The wood for the shelves and supports I made was unfinished. First layers were spray Zinsser clear shellac (which was the procedure recommended to me on this forum), sanded between coats, until I got the smooth, almost grain-free finish I wanted. Then I switched to the spray black lacquer. I was on about the third coat of that, when the initial blush problem showed up.

I think that my application of blush eliminator was just too heavy on this edge piece, and that’s why it softened too far down. I just don’t know why sanding it, then re-applying, didn’t solve the problem. The re-application was light and I was more careful to keep the can further back.

Knowing for certain what's on there help's but deepen's the mystery. Is it possible a sheet of sandpaper,wiping cloth or anything else was accidently contaminated with oil or silicon? For instance,a cloth had been used to wipe dust off a surface that had Pledge furniture polish or somthing on it. You didn't mention fisheye eliminator and I don't see how it could be used if one is using aerosol but I'll ask anyway and explain why you should never use it in future projects. The additive can save a finish but in the process contaminate your tools and shop with silicon resulting in disaster on later finishing projects. You come across as an astute finisher so I figure "crinkle and alligatoring"mean's the same as it does for most. I'm totally at a lose as to why this happened so let's discuss ways of possibly fixing it. There are accomplished finishers on this site,hopfully some weigh in soon. Is there any reason why damage can't be sanded smooth even if that's back to raw wood then start over with same products and proceedure? I'm aware there will be overspray onto nice finish but it can be dealt with. After 3 or more coats of lacquer is on,carful sanding with super fine paper will remove overspray and blend unevenness. Once surface is satisfactory with exception of sheen,it can be buffed to any sheen desired. I really don't see any way around starting over on the damaged area and I believe that's possible without re-doing intire shelf. If you aren't familiar with buffing out lacquer,I'd suggest practicing on scrap. If the spray you used is expensive,most any lacquer can be used to get the feel for buffing. I'm sorry but I'm grasping at straws now.

It’s possible the sandpaper was contaminated, though I doubt it. If I used it on anything, it would have just been on raw wood. Final wipe down was with a fresh microfiber cloth. I don’t use furniture polish or any silicon.

I don’t want to spray anymore, because this whole project has been one step forward, two steps back.

Unless anyone has other ideas, I will just sand down (not through) the black lacquer and try to bring up some semblance of the sheen with finer sandpapers. I have grits up to at least 3000 for my metal work.

I would expect alligator cracks to reach through all layers but hopfully enough remains' to alow sanding. It mightl be necessary to use a power tool in final step to attain sheen. I browsed Zinsser clear shellac and found one description say mineral spirits for clean up and others say alcohol or ammonia. If you still have the Zinsser container,what does it recommend for clean up?