Where's a good place to get shellac for mixing yourself? All I could find
were quarts at Home Depot, but I'm sure they are pre-mixed.

"Ron Hock" wrote in message
...
Mail Man Bob wrote:
Thanks everyone for all the great info. I'll trot down to the shellac
store and let you know how it turns out.

Mix it yourself, Bob. The pre-mixed stuff comes with the risk of it
being too old to work properly. Once mixed, shellac and alcohol begin to
form esters that retard drying and reduce the dried film's water
resistance. Use denatured alcohol (again, buy fresh as it absorbs water
from the air while open and most half-cans that are sitting around
probably contain more water than you'd want) in a ratio of about one
pound shellac flakes to one gallon of alcohol (precision not required).
For smaller quantities, do the math.

It's my opinion that the reason shellac fell from favor a few decades
ago was due to the prevalence of canned shellac that didn't perform as
well as it could because it was too old. That, and the hoopla around
those new polyurethanes led the market to assume that shellac was
old-hat. There's still a prevalent myth that a wet glass will leave a
ring on a shellac finish but that's not true if the shellac had been
freshly mixed. Shellac will, however, soften in the prolonged presence
of distilled spirits (whiskey, et al -- so mop up after that party) and
it begins to soften at about 140F so you can't set a cuppa on it without
a coaster or it will deboss a mug-shaped ring.

Sorry to go on and on but the more I learn about shellac the more I like
the stuff. Good luck with your project, Bob. I think sealing those
panels is a good, healthy idea and I've no doubt that shellac is the
best finish to use.

Ron
--
Ron Hock
HOCK TOOLS www.hocktools.com & www.hockfinishes.com