George E. Cawthon wrote:

Yeahbut denatured alcohol sure ain't. I would never think of reusing
these for food.


Huh? When you did can, did you not pour out old liquid before putting
in the new stuff to can? Maybe even wash the jars? No? Gross!

No, actually, we haven't canned since I was a kid. There used to be a
vacant lot across the street. Somebody plowed a bulldozer through it and
stopped. That was a perfect spot for shooting used mason jars with my BB
gun.

Seriously, do you think shellac can withstand boiling water for any
length of time? Or withstand 95 percent alcohol? Or are all the
statements on the negatives of a shellac finish wrong? such as water
is absorbed and turns it white spots, it is dissolved by alcohol, it
is not heat resistant, etc.

Seriously, denatured alcohol has a big skull and crossbones on the can, and
it says it can't be made nonpoisonous. Sure, it probably all evaporated.
Sure, boiling and washing probably got rid of every trace of it. But for
the price of a box of mason jars, who wants to take a chance like that?! I
don't eat out of something that has contained some poisonous chemical.
Shellac may be edible, but I would not eat it unless it was prepared with
pure boozing alcohol. I know all the solvent is supposed to evaporate, but
what if some of it doesn't? It's just a stupid risk to take. (Not that I
actually have any occasion to eat shellac, denatured alcohol or not. Not
shellac I have applied myself anyway. If they use methyl alcohol to
prepare food grade shellac coatings, I'll be really surprised though.)

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan
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