Hello all.
I have been using shellac for a while now and the most tricky part of
shellac for me is its preparation.
I used to mix the total amount of shellac flakes and denatured alcohol
togheder and wait for the mix to be ready and this seldom happened,
sometimes I got a transparent solution and sometimes I got a suspension
with the flakes floating in alcohol and I knew of no way to make it
transparent from there. Using filter paper from chemystry supplyes did
not yeld a clear transparent liquid, filtering is slow due the shellac
clogging the filter paper pores so I dropped that. I dont know how to
precipitate it. After using some shellac in this condition the restant
part, mostly shellac flakes, dried after a good while and formed a
sticky goo in the flask.

Later I came up with this method:
Cover the flakes with denatured alcohol, but using a part of alcohol in
the cut(just to cover the flakes in alcohol), and wait for a day of so
Then I pour the rest of the alcohol carefully to the dissolving flakes.
I used a syringe with a needle to do so and I sprayed the alcohol on
the flasks walls so by the time the alcohol touched the solution it
would not stirr and just deposit itself of the top, making a visible
layer of clear alcohol on top of the already dissolving flakes. After
using the rest of alcohol I let it sit overnight to let it to get in a
homogeneous transparent solution.


With this method I could get a very transparent shellac cut. I used a
syringe to remove the top layer of shellac, leaving the dissolved
flakes undisturbed. Sometimes I poured more alcohol with the syringe
and I guess the flakes keep releasing more shellac. After I gathered
all the transparent liquid, I just leave the flask with the dissolved
flakes on the shelf and after a month of so the alcohol evapored
leaving a brown cake on the bottom, the texture of the cake is gum
like, easyly removable from the flask and like a soft gum to the touch
but not sticky.


So this is it. I browsed the web for a method to prepare shellac cut
and the actual preparation was often omited, going straight to the
application part.

I wonder if this method of preparation is allright?
How do you prepare your shellac?

Konstantin.

wrote in message
oups.com...
How do you prepare your shellac?

Konstantin.


I make a 1# cut by putting an ounce in 8 of alcohol, but I shake it every
time I think of it until it's dissolved. If I want to go up a cut, I then
add another ounce to the solution, shaking when I get a chance.

If you do not have dewaxed shellac, I find it convenient to decant before
adding to go up a cut.

Doesn't take much of a scale to weigh an ounce. Wife's diet scale is ok.
Much more consistent than big flakes versus medium versus powder, and
matching with fluid.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello all.
I have been using shellac for a while now and the most tricky part of
shellac for me is its preparation.

My son has been doing a lot of shellac lately. On his last batch, he put
the flakes in a zip lock bag and beat them up using the side of a meat
tenderizing mallet. Then he mixed with shellac and stirred, etc. for 24
hours. He strains through cheesecloth.

Bob

On 15 Apr 2005 14:01:32 -0700, wrote:

How do you prepare your shellac?

Slowly. It's not a quick process.

I blast mine through a coffee grinder, then add repeated small
quantities of powdered shellac to the alcohol over a period of several
days. I never have a "glob", because it's easier to avoid it forming
than it is to get rid of it afterwards.

All shellac should dissolve, so there's no point in filtering it.
Anything solid is something that ought to have been dissolved, not
something solid that needs to be removed.

--
Cats have nine lives, which is why they rarely post to Usenet.

In article .com,
wrote:

How do you prepare your shellac?

I weigh the flakes, add the appropriate amount of ethanol, then agitate
the mix over a period of a couple of days till it's dissolved.

If there's sediment at the bottom of the jar, I decant it.

It's not rocket science.

--
One site: http://www.balderstone.ca
The other site, with ww linkshttp://www.woodenwabbits.com
------------------------------------------------------
~ Stay Calm... Be Brave... Wait for the Signs ~

I have been having good results by skipping the preparation all
together and using Bull's Eye premixed shellac from home depot. It
comes in either clear or honey, and they also sell a spray version
(which I don't use). The shellac is thin enough that it can be applied
straight out of the can, yet it can be thinned with denatured alcohol
for a softer finish. I just finished an end table project where the
table top is a 2" thick endgrain slice of some unidentified relatively
durable softwood. The top is finished with between 6 and 8 coats of
this shellac (I lost count around 5 coats). So far it has worked
beautifully.

I wonder if this method of preparation is allright?
How do you prepare your shellac?

I just put the mix in a mason jar, shake it vigorously for a few minutes
then lit it sit for a day or so. If I'm in hurry I'll shake it every few
minutes and it's ready to go in an hour. If there's sediment I'll just
strain it through a coffee filter.

Zinsser's premixed shellac is waxy while their spray and Seal Coat are
deaxed.

On 15 Apr 2005 19:00:16 -0700, "woodworker88"
wrote:

I have been having good results by skipping the preparation all
together and using Bull's Eye premixed shellac from home depot. It
comes in either clear or honey, and they also sell a spray version
(which I don't use). The shellac is thin enough that it can be applied
straight out of the can, yet it can be thinned with denatured alcohol
for a softer finish. I just finished an end table project where the
table top is a 2" thick endgrain slice of some unidentified relatively
durable softwood. The top is finished with between 6 and 8 coats of
this shellac (I lost count around 5 coats). So far it has worked
beautifully.