Official Luthiers Forum!

99.99 isopropyl seems to be working for me to make shellac. I'm not fping though...

Go to your nearest "Home Hardware" store, and get the "odorless paint thinner". It's straight naphtha. No idea why they insist on marketing it that way, but it is what it is. Works fine.

I've been using methyl hydrate(another ingenious re-naming of a simple substance known as methyl alcohol) for nearly 20 years, to wet woods, and for shellac. No health issues I know of... We can't buy grain alcohol at anything better than 40% ABV in Ontario, but if you cross into Quebec, you can get 95%....

Anhydrous alcohol is a waste of money, because as soon as you open it, it will begin taking-in moisture and return to slightly above 95% ABV, anyhow. The driers used to make it anhydrous may have an affect on your finish, too, and it may be different from one batch to the next. Why risk it, and pay more at the same time?

In another world, it's called lighter fluid! Oh yeah it's this world!

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Waddy

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Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Ronson lighter fluid used to be a good(albeit expensive) source of naphtha, but recently it's iffy, with reports of alcohol being used.