Oh, great and knowledgable guru's of finishing, please lend a word of wisdom
to this poor mortal.

I got this pound of "ultra blonde" shellac flakes from Shellac.net about a
year ago and finally made up a 2lb cut. What I got was about 2" of waxy
looking stuff in the bottom of the jar. Thought it might have been the
alcohol so tried a smaller batch with a different can of 200proof and am
getting the same thing, except this batch seems to be cloudy, as well as
having the goo in the bottom.

I assume I have a bad batch of shellac. What do you think?

Deb

I think you need to shake it up. About once an hour for a day or two.
Thinner cuts dissolve faster, as do flakes that have been pulverized into
powder, but I think it will be just fine, eventually...

Shellac takes a while to prepare, which can be thought of as a pain to deal
with... and dries so fast that it might seem like a pain to deal with... but
when it's finally applied correctly, the result will take your breath away.
Which is way too cool for pain of any kind...

Michael Latcha - at home in Redford, MI


"Dr. Deb" wrote in message
...
Oh, great and knowledgable guru's of finishing, please lend a word of
wisdom
to this poor mortal.

I got this pound of "ultra blonde" shellac flakes from Shellac.net about a
year ago and finally made up a 2lb cut. What I got was about 2" of waxy
looking stuff in the bottom of the jar. Thought it might have been the
alcohol so tried a smaller batch with a different can of 200proof and am
getting the same thing, except this batch seems to be cloudy, as well as
having the goo in the bottom.

I assume I have a bad batch of shellac. What do you think?

Deb

Dr. Deb wrote:
Oh, great and knowledgable guru's of finishing, please lend a word of wisdom
to this poor mortal.

I got this pound of "ultra blonde" shellac flakes from Shellac.net about a
year ago and finally made up a 2lb cut. What I got was about 2" of waxy
looking stuff in the bottom of the jar. Thought it might have been the
alcohol so tried a smaller batch with a different can of 200proof and am
getting the same thing, except this batch seems to be cloudy, as well as
having the goo in the bottom.

I assume I have a bad batch of shellac. What do you think?

Deb

I think you have some very sleepy shellac. Take it to bed with you the
next couple nights, keep it under the covers so it gets nice and warm,
and in a few nights it will be rested enough to behave properly.

Seriously, have you tried a warm (100 F) bath of water to get the
process moving? Almost all of my shellac flakes have required a couple
hours on the stove in a pan of warm water and a VERY low temp setting
to completely dissolve.

"Dr. Deb" wrote in message
...
Oh, great and knowledgable guru's of finishing, please lend a word of
wisdom
to this poor mortal.

I got this pound of "ultra blonde" shellac flakes from Shellac.net about a
year ago and finally made up a 2lb cut. What I got was about 2" of waxy
looking stuff in the bottom of the jar. Thought it might have been the
alcohol so tried a smaller batch with a different can of 200proof and am
getting the same thing, except this batch seems to be cloudy, as well as
having the goo in the bottom.

I assume I have a bad batch of shellac. What do you think?

Deb

Not to worry! Warm it, shake it and mix well, let stand stir and apply.
Its worth the wait.

Dave



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Dr. Deb wrote:
Oh, great and knowledgable guru's of finishing, please lend a word of wisdom
to this poor mortal.

I got this pound of "ultra blonde" shellac flakes from Shellac.net about a
year ago and finally made up a 2lb cut. What I got was about 2" of waxy
looking stuff in the bottom of the jar. Thought it might have been the
alcohol so tried a smaller batch with a different can of 200proof and am
getting the same thing, except this batch seems to be cloudy, as well as
having the goo in the bottom.

I assume I have a bad batch of shellac. What do you think?

Deb

It could be wax. Did the order state it was "dewaxed shellac"?

If the shellac flakes were not dewaxed decant the shellac and carefully
pour it off the clear shellac into another container before use.

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

(Remove -SPAM- to send email)

Dr. Deb wrote:

Oh, great and knowledgable guru's of finishing, please lend a word of
wisdom to this poor mortal.

I got this pound of "ultra blonde" shellac flakes from Shellac.net about a
year ago and finally made up a 2lb cut. What I got was about 2" of waxy
looking stuff in the bottom of the jar. Thought it might have been the
alcohol so tried a smaller batch with a different can of 200proof and am
getting the same thing, except this batch seems to be cloudy, as well as
having the goo in the bottom.

I assume I have a bad batch of shellac. What do you think?

Deb


For those of you who suggested waiting, is three weeks long enough?

Seriously, it was supposed to be dewaxed, but evidently it isn't.

Thanks for the replies

Deb

"Dr. Deb" wrote in message
news
I assume I have a bad batch of shellac. What do you think?

Deb


For those of you who suggested waiting, is three weeks long enough?

Seriously, it was supposed to be dewaxed, but evidently it isn't.

Sounds as if your batch may have aged prematurely, all right. Key is the
cloudy condition. If it persists rather than separating rapidly along a
line of clear demarcation, your shellac may have begun the process of
esterfication. If a clear demarcation line is present, decant and use the
top stuff on a piece of scrap. Should dry to the touch in a few minutes.
If it stays tacky - out with it!

"nlbauers" wrote in message

Almost all of my shellac flakes have required a couple
hours on the stove in a pan of warm water and a VERY low temp setting
to completely dissolve.

Careful now ...

Headline in Denver newspaper: "Resident Tracked Through UseNet and Sued For
Destroying Home".

In this day and age you can bet there are plenty stupid enough to try that
on a gas stove, and plenty of hungry lawyers around to make the headline a
reality.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 12/13/05

Don't artificially heat the mixture. Set it in a sunny window and shake
it up every day until the solids are all dissolved. It can take a week
or more, but as others have said, the wait is worth it. Also try the
other grades: Orange, Buttonlac, Seedlac and Garnetlac for really nice
colors. Blonde is pretty much only used where you don't want any color
at all. You can also tint it with alchohol soluble dyes, but they may
not be colorfast in sunlight.
Bugs

You don't live in Seattle, do you.

"Bugs" wrote in message
oups.com...
Don't artificially heat the mixture. Set it in a sunny window and shake
it up every day until the solids are all dissolved.

On Fri, 23 Dec 2005 22:31:18 -0600, with neither quill nor qualm, "Dr.
Deb" quickly quoth:

Dr. Deb wrote:

Oh, great and knowledgable guru's of finishing, please lend a word of
wisdom to this poor mortal.

I got this pound of "ultra blonde" shellac flakes from Shellac.net about a
year ago and finally made up a 2lb cut. What I got was about 2" of waxy
looking stuff in the bottom of the jar. Thought it might have been the
alcohol so tried a smaller batch with a different can of 200proof and am
getting the same thing, except this batch seems to be cloudy, as well as
having the goo in the bottom.

I assume I have a bad batch of shellac. What do you think?

Could be.


For those of you who suggested waiting, is three weeks long enough?

Only if the stuff has been in a warm environment, Deb.
When I make up shellac, it's done in a canning jar with lid and
set in a pan of warm water with the lid loose. I tighten the lid
after a few minutes and shake it up, repeating until the water is
cool and the shellac dissolved. Try that, and in the morning, if
it's still cloudy, the shellac had wax or the alcohol had water in
it. With two different sources of alky, the problem looks to be in
the bug spit itself.


Seriously, it was supposed to be dewaxed, but evidently it isn't.

Contact the vendors and see what they have to say. They'll probably
send another batch to you.

In the interim, decant the clear shellac off the top and use it on
a piece of scrap to test the drying properties.

Merry Christmas Eve!


--
STOP THE SLAUGHTER! || http://diversify.com
Boycott Baby Oil! || Programmed Websites

Buy yourself a "very cheap" coffee grinder and let the machine
make the shellac into very little pieces. This will help in the
next batch.

On this batch...warm it, shake it, repeat, until it's ready to
use.

It will work ....

Dr. Deb wrote:

Oh, great and knowledgable guru's of finishing, please lend a word of wisdom
to this poor mortal.

I got this pound of "ultra blonde" shellac flakes from Shellac.net about a
year ago and finally made up a 2lb cut. What I got was about 2" of waxy
looking stuff in the bottom of the jar. Thought it might have been the
alcohol so tried a smaller batch with a different can of 200proof and am
getting the same thing, except this batch seems to be cloudy, as well as
having the goo in the bottom.

I assume I have a bad batch of shellac. What do you think?

Deb

On Tue, 27 Dec 2005 21:44:52 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, Pat
Barber quickly quoth:

Buy yourself a "very cheap" coffee grinder and let the machine
make the shellac into very little pieces. This will help in the
next batch.

Bloody top-posters, anyway. tsk tsk tsk

I took the scientific method, using a screwdriver handle to my Super
Blonde flakes and they broke up/powderized pretty quickly. It was
fairly thin to begin with. Alas, Paddy don't play dat no mo.
sniffle, sob, honk


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