I've been trying to dewax a quart can of this stuff for a couple weeks
now. It looks like the best I will be able to do is to get 50% dewaxed
product from it, and that is being generous. The Flexner book says to
expect 5% wax. They must be decanting the dewaxed portion off to make
Seal Coat and spray bombs and selling what's left to suckers (like me)
as regular shellac. What a gyp.

Perhaps you are using the wrong product ???

http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=72

The folks that make it say it's 100% "wax free"


Hax Planks wrote:

I've been trying to dewax a quart can of this stuff for a couple weeks
now. It looks like the best I will be able to do is to get 50% dewaxed
product from it, and that is being generous. The Flexner book says to
expect 5% wax. They must be decanting the dewaxed portion off to make
Seal Coat and spray bombs and selling what's left to suckers (like me)
as regular shellac. What a gyp.

"Hax Planks" wrote in message
.net...
I've been trying to dewax a quart can of this stuff for a couple weeks
now. It looks like the best I will be able to do is to get 50% dewaxed
product from it, and that is being generous. The Flexner book says to
expect 5% wax. They must be decanting the dewaxed portion off to make
Seal Coat and spray bombs and selling what's left to suckers (like me)
as regular shellac. What a gyp.

Sure you don't just have an out-of-date can? Check it. Esterfication seems
the best answer. Second best - water contamination.

I suspect your reply is right on. I've used their dewaxed shellac a few times,
and all was well. On the 50% dewaxed note, I think he's seeing something that
Flexner doesn't mention. I had some shellac a few years ago that I tried to
decant, and only 1/2 of it settled out of the wax. It stayed this way for
several weeks, and I sent a query to Jeff Jewitt. He replied they probably
included an additive to suppress the wax settling. There's nothing at all
wrong with that, and it just means less stirring. Don't remember the brand,
but other shellacs have decanted okay.

OTOH, for the past maybe 8 years I've bought dewaxed shellac flakes from
Homestead.

GerryG

On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 15:41:35 GMT, Pat Barber
wrote:

Perhaps you are using the wrong product ???

http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=72

The folks that make it say it's 100% "wax free"


Hax Planks wrote:

I've been trying to dewax a quart can of this stuff for a couple weeks
now. It looks like the best I will be able to do is to get 50% dewaxed
product from it, and that is being generous. The Flexner book says to
expect 5% wax. They must be decanting the dewaxed portion off to make
Seal Coat and spray bombs and selling what's left to suckers (like me)
as regular shellac. What a gyp.

If you don't mind mixing it yourself you can buy dewaxed flakes. In
the end I think this is simpler than decanting and losing some of the
product in the process. I bought dewaxed flakes from a website called
woodfinishingsupplies.com. The clarity of the finish is much better
than the Park's shellac from a can that I had been using previously.

George wrote:
"Hax Planks" wrote in message
.net...
I've been trying to dewax a quart can of this stuff for a couple
weeks
now. It looks like the best I will be able to do is to get 50%
dewaxed
product from it, and that is being generous. The Flexner book says
to
expect 5% wax. They must be decanting the dewaxed portion off to
make
Seal Coat and spray bombs and selling what's left to suckers (like
me)
as regular shellac. What a gyp.

Sure you don't just have an out-of-date can? Check it.
Esterfication seems
the best answer. Second best - water contamination.

Hax Planks wrote:

expect 5% wax. They must be decanting the dewaxed portion off to make
Seal Coat and spray bombs and selling what's left to suckers (like me)
as regular shellac. What a gyp.

Probably not. I've got some stuff I mixed up from raw flakes that's at
least 40% wax. The bullseye stuff is probably made up from something along
the same general line. I wouldn't say this means they are ripping you off
on purpose. Just that if you want dewaxed shellac, don't buy their regular
waxy stuff and expect to decant a useful quantity of it.

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/

Silvan wrote:
Hax Planks wrote:

expect 5% wax. They must be decanting the dewaxed portion off to
make
Seal Coat and spray bombs and selling what's left to suckers (like
me)
as regular shellac. What a gyp.

Probably not. I've got some stuff I mixed up from raw flakes that's
at
least 40% wax. The bullseye stuff is probably made up from something
along
the same general line. I wouldn't say this means they are ripping
you off
on purpose. Just that if you want dewaxed shellac, don't buy their
regular
waxy stuff and expect to decant a useful quantity of it.


According to their label their regular stuff is dewaxed. I've never
seen any Bulls-eye NON-DE-waxed shellac on the shelves.

But as many have noted, mixing your own is the way to go.
Shellac is best used when fresh.

--

FF

wrote:


According to their label their regular stuff is dewaxed. I've never
seen any Bulls-eye NON-DE-waxed shellac on the shelves.
You might want to reread those labels. I've never seen a dewaxed or
wax-free claim on the regular shellac, only on the Seal Coat (a 2# cut
dewaxed clear shellac). One clue to wax in the regular is the caution
on the label that it is not recommended for use under polyurethane.



But as many have noted, mixing your own is the way to go.
Shellac is best used when fresh.

Yeah, I like mixing my own as well, but always keep a can of Seal Coat
around for odd uses that I can never predict, but always come up, and
are not worth mixing up flakes.
--
Alex -- Replace "nospam" with "mail" to reply by email. Checked infrequently.

Pat Barber says...

Perhaps you are using the wrong product ???

http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=72

The folks that make it say it's 100% "wax free"

I was talking about their regular shellac, not the seal coat.

GerryG says...

I suspect your reply is right on. I've used their dewaxed shellac a few times,
and all was well. On the 50% dewaxed note, I think he's seeing something that
Flexner doesn't mention. I had some shellac a few years ago that I tried to
decant, and only 1/2 of it settled out of the wax. It stayed this way for
several weeks, and I sent a query to Jeff Jewitt. He replied they probably
included an additive to suppress the wax settling. There's nothing at all
wrong with that, and it just means less stirring. Don't remember the brand,
but other shellacs have decanted okay.

OTOH, for the past maybe 8 years I've bought dewaxed shellac flakes from
Homestead.

GerryG

That's interesting. Maybe there is an additive. I'd hate to call it a
gyp if it wasn't, but I'd be amazed if there was less than 25% wax the
way it looks now, additive or not. Buying the flakes is more
economical. You can get a pound of the dewaxed color of your choice for
$20 at Woodcraft and I saw all varieties for $17 online. The seal coat
is about $10-12/quart, which is reasonably competitive with the flakes
if you like the color and need to get it from any nearby hardware store.
I guess the moral of the story is buy dewaxed from the start if you want
it dewaxed.

alexy wrote:
wrote:


According to their label their regular stuff is dewaxed. I've never
seen any Bulls-eye NON-DE-waxed shellac on the shelves.
You might want to reread those labels. I've never seen a dewaxed or
wax-free claim on the regular shellac, only on the Seal Coat (a 2#
cut
dewaxed clear shellac). One clue to wax in the regular is the caution
on the label that it is not recommended for use under polyurethane.



I forgot to DAGS and put a 1.5 lb (50/50) cut of amber bullseye under a
coat of oil gel stain and oil poly and have noticed NO ill effects. I
did let it dry overnight and sanded at 330 grit. After I learned of my
"mistake" I checked to make sure the poly wouldn't lift. It's not
going anywhere! Hard as a rock and sanded to fine white powder. It
looks like it will be just fine. I plan to put 2 more coats of ploy on
it and I doubt there will be problems. Maybe I'll luck out...

On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 09:41:41 -0500, the inscrutable Hax Planks
spake:

I've been trying to dewax a quart can of this stuff for a couple weeks
now. It looks like the best I will be able to do is to get 50% dewaxed
product from it, and that is being generous. The Flexner book says to
expect 5% wax. They must be decanting the dewaxed portion off to make
Seal Coat and spray bombs and selling what's left to suckers (like me)
as regular shellac. What a gyp.

Maybe you shouldn't have use that jug of 70% isopropyl alcohol
from the medicine cabinet. Is that water or wax? g

I just made a jar of SuperBlonde from the flakes I got from those
olden times when O'Deen was de King of Sheelack. There is NO wax,
no bug parts, just nice shellac.


-----------------------------------------------------------------
When I die, I'm leaving my body to science fiction. --Steven Wright
----------------------------
http://diversify.com Comprehensive Website Development

If there's not too much wax, the oil-based stuff will stick due to the
solvent. With water-based finishes, it's rather different.
GerryG

On 23 Feb 2005 14:23:29 -0800, wrote:


alexy wrote:
wrote:


According to their label their regular stuff is dewaxed. I've never
seen any Bulls-eye NON-DE-waxed shellac on the shelves.
You might want to reread those labels. I've never seen a dewaxed or
wax-free claim on the regular shellac, only on the Seal Coat (a 2#
cut
dewaxed clear shellac). One clue to wax in the regular is the caution
on the label that it is not recommended for use under polyurethane.



I forgot to DAGS and put a 1.5 lb (50/50) cut of amber bullseye under a
coat of oil gel stain and oil poly and have noticed NO ill effects. I
did let it dry overnight and sanded at 330 grit. After I learned of my
"mistake" I checked to make sure the poly wouldn't lift. It's not
going anywhere! Hard as a rock and sanded to fine white powder. It
looks like it will be just fine. I plan to put 2 more coats of ploy on
it and I doubt there will be problems. Maybe I'll luck out...

On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 09:41:41 -0500, Hax Planks
wrote:

I've been trying to dewax a quart can of this stuff for a couple weeks
now. It looks like the best I will be able to do is to get 50% dewaxed
product from it, and that is being generous. The Flexner book says to
expect 5% wax. They must be decanting the dewaxed portion off to make
Seal Coat and spray bombs and selling what's left to suckers (like me)
as regular shellac. What a gyp.

It still makes for a really nice finish, regardless.

Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

Larry Jaques says...

Maybe you shouldn't have use that jug of 70% isopropyl alcohol
from the medicine cabinet. Is that water or wax? g

I didn't try to thin it before trying to get it to settle out. I would
never use drug store IPA to try to thin shellac. I did thin some with
denatured alcohol and it did make it worse.