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| Making shellac... http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=31776 |
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| Author: | meddlingfool [ Fri Apr 08, 2011 10:01 am ] |
| Post subject: | Making shellac... |
Ok, so I'm trying to make shellac. I have high quality Shepard flakes from shellac.net. I have 99% isopropyl alcohol. I have added my flakes to my alcohol, shaking every ten minutes, leaving overnight. This gave me a lump of toffee like substance sitting at the bottom of a jar of alcohol. Is there something I'm not doing right? |
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| Author: | theguitarwhisperer [ Fri Apr 08, 2011 10:08 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
Stir it, and poke at it with a stick, it'll dissolve. |
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| Author: | meddlingfool [ Fri Apr 08, 2011 11:58 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
All the flakes are fairly well crushed. On my second attempt I put maybe a sugar cubes worth of crushed flake into 4 oz of alcohol. Not enough to even cover the bottom of the jar, and after sitting overnight it is still perfectly formed flakes. Perhaps I'll try warming it tonight and see what happens. I assume when they say 4 oz flake into 16 oz alcohol, they mean volume, not weight? As in a shot glass is a good measuring cup? |
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| Author: | Howard Klepper [ Fri Apr 08, 2011 12:21 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
Don't use isopropyl. Denatured ethanol works well. |
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| Author: | David Newton [ Fri Apr 08, 2011 12:25 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
Yeah, I was thinking isopropyl might be your prob. |
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| Author: | meddlingfool [ Fri Apr 08, 2011 2:23 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
Fiye! I guess I'll have to make a trip to Lee Valley for their shellac mixer. Ah well. |
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| Author: | Mark Fogleman [ Fri Apr 08, 2011 3:19 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
I make a bath of hot tap water to warm the Ethanol/shellac flake mix. I also use an old whizzer style coffee grinder to grind the shellac flakes to a powder and add about 1/4 at a time until disolved. To quote K C: "Shake Shake Shake". Fresh Everclear or Diesel work great if you can find them. |
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| Author: | JSDenvir [ Fri Apr 08, 2011 3:37 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
Just a heads up. The Lee Valley shellac thinner is extremely pungent. I couldn't take it. Steve |
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| Author: | meddlingfool [ Fri Apr 08, 2011 4:30 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
Well, it seems to have the highest ethanol content of options in Canada. If it works it'll have to do. |
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| Author: | Howard Klepper [ Fri Apr 08, 2011 6:08 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
You can use methanol as a shellac solvent, but use respiratory protection and gloves. |
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| Author: | munen [ Fri Apr 08, 2011 6:58 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
when i saw the title of the post i thought you were harvesting your own stuff  like the guys on this video.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQcQ0yuekZ0 shows the whole process of shellac harvest and processing, i was amazed when i saw it. didnt imagine it like that. |
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| Author: | Chris Beebe [ Fri Apr 08, 2011 8:43 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
I use everclear |
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| Author: | Chris Beebe [ Fri Apr 08, 2011 8:44 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
I use everclear |
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| Author: | nickton [ Fri Apr 08, 2011 9:45 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
those sheets are pretty amazing. thanks for the link. 
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| Author: | David Newton [ Sat Apr 09, 2011 8:34 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
Great video, thanks! |
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| Author: | Dave Stewart [ Sat Apr 09, 2011 9:11 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
I just use methyl hydrate from Home Hardware ... cheaper & has always worked fine for me. (Typically, super blonde does take longer than ,say, orange, which is very quick) |
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| Author: | WaddyThomson [ Sat Apr 09, 2011 9:13 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
The current "American Lutherie" has an interesting article on alcohols used for French polishing. Some are more bad than others, but all are considered hazardous material, including Everclear. I use grain alcohol too, but the different brands of denatured alcohol, have very different additives, some of which are bad stuff. |
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| Author: | CharlieT [ Sat Apr 09, 2011 11:05 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
munen wrote: when i saw the title of the post i thought you were harvesting your own stuff like the guys on this video.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQcQ0yuekZ0 shows the whole process of shellac harvest and processing, i was amazed when i saw it. didnt imagine it like that. That's a very cool video, Bruno. Thanks for sharing that. |
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| Author: | Link Van Cleave [ Sat Apr 09, 2011 12:25 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
WaddyThomson wrote: The current "American Lutherie" has an interesting article on alcohols used for French polishing. Some are more bad than others, but all are considered hazardous material, including Everclear. I use grain alcohol too, but the different brands of denatured alcohol, have very different additives, some of which are bad stuff. Waddy, is that article available online ? Would you be willing to post a quick list from the least bad to the worse. Thanks, Link |
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| Author: | meddlingfool [ Sat Apr 09, 2011 4:18 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
I guess methyl hydrate wins due to availability. Thank goodness my gubment protects me from relatively benign ethanol. |
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| Author: | hemetca [ Sun Apr 10, 2011 6:06 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
Me too |
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| Author: | Quine [ Mon Apr 11, 2011 10:33 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
Ditto on the warm bath idea. Put the jar in a bath of hot tap water and it will really speed things up. I don't know about the isopropyl effect. I always use denatured alcohol from the paint store. |
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| Author: | meddlingfool [ Tue Apr 12, 2011 2:09 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
FWIW, I was able to make the iso work. I just had to add the flakes a little but at a time, so a batch took three days to make. |
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| Author: | windsurfer [ Wed Apr 13, 2011 9:23 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
Pure IPA (2-Proponol) works fine for dissolving Shellac. It is what I used to use. When I mix shellac I use a stirrer plate to help dissolve things faster. I quit using IPA because while it sprays fine, it doesn't not french polish well. The alcohol evaporates off too fast, but the surface stays gummy for a long time. Makes it so you have to use a fairly wet pad to get the right trail, but then also lots of oil to keep the wet pad from sticking. Ethanol or DeNatured Alchohol is much easier to work with as you get good trails with a much drier pad. DNA is a mix of stuff (EtOH, MeOH, Methyl Hydrate) that is not always the same. Use appropriate safety gear and test each mix to get a feel for how it works. -jd |
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| Author: | Howard Klepper [ Wed Apr 13, 2011 3:03 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Making shellac... |
windsurfer wrote: Pure IPA (2-Proponol) works fine for dissolving Shellac. It is what I used to use. When I mix shellac I use a stirrer plate to help dissolve things faster. I quit using IPA because while it sprays fine, it doesn't not french polish well. The alcohol evaporates off too fast, but the surface stays gummy for a long time. Makes it so you have to use a fairly wet pad to get the right trail, but then also lots of oil to keep the wet pad from sticking. Ethanol or DeNatured Alchohol is much easier to work with as you get good trails with a much drier pad. DNA is a mix of stuff (EtOH, MeOH, Methyl Hydrate) that is not always the same. Use appropriate safety gear and test each mix to get a feel for how it works. -jd Mmmmm, IPA. I don't drink it until after work, though. |
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