You must regularly shake or stir the mixture of shellac flakes and
alcohol to get the flakes to dissolve. A temperature of 70-80° F is fine,
you do not have to warm it above this. Leaving it to sit for days will do
nothing for dissolution. All you will get is an softened blob at the bottom
of the container. Try shaking it every hour or two. Grinding up the flakes
was a good idea to increase surface area but you still must mix it
regularly. As for Zinsser's Seal-Coat, it is already a two pound cut of
dewaxed shellac. If you like the color, there is no reason not to use it.

Good Luck.


wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm trying to use Shellac flakes for the second time and am having some
trouble. The first time I used it they dissovled after about three days
without much fuss, but this go-round I've got a big blob of gelatin at
the bottom of my bottle that I can't get to dissolve. Here are the
facts of the case:

* Bought blonde dewaxed shellac from Woodcraft on Thursday
* About an hour later, I smashed it to smithereens with a hammer and
added it to brand new alcohol (in a well sealed plastic bottle, also
from Woodcraft) in a 2# cut
* I tried adding it to the alcohol slowly and letting it dissolve, but
it just sat at the bottom and stared at me desipte repeated stirrings,
so I dumped it all in.
* The bottle is a very well sealed glass jar with a rubber grommet and
a metal latch - no chance of moisture getting in that I can see.
* I put the bottle in a bath of warm water to speed the reaction
* Come back four days later, and there's goopy shellac gelatin on the
bottom, maybe about a quarter of the original volume, undissolved. I've
spent the last couple hours breaking it up, warming it, shaking it, and
repeating, and it's still just gelatin--the undissolved portion hasn't
changed much.

Is this shellac no good? Should I return it? Did I blow it in step 3 by
being impatient? I still have another bottle of flakes in the fride and
I don't want to screw up another batch.

Thanks,
George