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What are you Canadians using for dissolving shellac flakes. I have a student in Canada that says he can't find anything to dissolve his flakes in. Any suggestions?

You can buy 99% isopropyl from any pharmacy or methyl hydrate from most hardware stores. I have used neither for French polishing but seem to make fine shellac. I think I usually use methyl.

Thank you. I will pass on the info.

You should be able to get the 190 proof alcool in quebec (not ontario, not sure of other provs), so hit up someone visiting there, or maybe the US somewhere. otherwise for the poisoned stuff you can get it lots of places, or order from lee valley.

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If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason. - Jack Handey

Yup.
In Quebec you can buy 'alcool' but it's expensive ($60/L??).

In BC you need to get a special license/permit to buy grain alcohol through the LiquorControl agency- apparently not that difficult but I haven't heard of any luthiers that have done it- of course it is illegal to re-sell the stuff, so 'quantity buying' doesn't make a lot of sense.
In some drug stores (in BC anyway) you can buy 'Rubbing Alcohol compound' that's 95% ethanol with a chemical added (not methanol) to make it unpalatable for drinking. It works pretty well for FP. Other 'Rubbing Alcohol' is isopropanol, so you have to read the label.

You can buy isopropanol/isopropyl alcohol by the gallon in vet supply/Co-Op places that cater to farmers and especially the horsey set- animal rubbing alcohol. This is the cheapest way to get isopropanol.

I've used isopropanol for FP, and I think it is trickier to use than ethanol, so perhaps not the best bet for a beginner.

The LeeValley stuff is closer to lacquer thinner than ethanol- it's a mix of solvents. One sniff and you'll be reaching for your mask and fresh canisters...

Methyl hydrate from Cdn Tire works for FP but probably not a good idea without excellent ventilation or mask.


If you have a friend that works in a lab, you could probably score some 95% ethanol, but the lab supply places in Canada (Boreal/Sargeant-Welch) won't sell to individuals, only schools, etc as far as I know.
I know of one builder that has an arrangement with an industrial solvent supplier- he buys 95% ethanol in 5 gal pails, infrequently. Again, illegal to redistribute.

Availablility of 95% ethanol/5%water (aka Everclear, and some other brand names) in the States is discussed a lot online. WA and CA don't have it, as I recall, OR does. $18 a half gallon when I bought some last month. And Powells books in Portland has a good selection of guitar & building books as well....

Cheers
John

ah ... good to know on Lee Valley John, I was going to get some from there but they were out of stock. Guess I'll try something else ....

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If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason. - Jack Handey

Hi,
Shoppers Drug here in Canada offers 2 rubbing alcohol products. Don't buy the isopropyl rubbing alcohol, as it will not dissolve the shellac. The product to buy is their rubbing alcohol compound Life brand, 95% ethanol anhydrous. I've had no issues with this product during French polishing and it’s inexpensive at around $5.00 per 500 ml.

Regards,

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Michael Lloyd

“I was born to ignorance, yes, and lesser poverties ...
I was born to privilege that I did not see ... I didn’t know it, but my way was paved” – John Gorka

This one of the problems being Canadian, but the many advantages we have make it where I want to be. Then again living across the river from Detroit is also helpful and convenient.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

+1 on the Life brand ethanol anhydrous from Shoppers Drug Mart it works fine for FP and is very reasonable. I pay about $3.00/500ml here in BC. I've found the price does vary a bit depending on the store.

Cal

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Remember, there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers!

Methyl alcohol from Goudy's in Toronto ....

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I use 95% ethanol from the pharmacy section of Safeway. It does have a chemical in it so that you can't drink it. I started using Methyl Hydrate but I don't have good ventilation and didn't want to risk it, so I stick with the 95% rubbing Ethanol. In Alberta you can buy the 95% Everclear but its far less cost effective.

I use a rummage sale coffee grinder to grind my shellac flakes into a powder and add ~1/4 of the total amount at 1-2 hour intervals to my container of Denatured Alcohol (Ethanol). Warming the container in hot tap water and shaking vigorusly speeds up the process. I found that dumping a large amount of flake shellac into room temperature Denatured Alcohol (Ethanol) resulted in a clump in the bottom which may or may not disolve.

The glob of shellac will dissolve eventually if you leave the bottle in a sunny window, but it's never fast enough for me.

Grinding helps, but is only good for the more refined grades of shellac without the bug bits and sticks and bits of sand, etc!!
(Resins like mastic, benzoin and sandarac also have a lot of 'extras' included, I've found. I'm too cheap to buy the highly refined grades, I suppose.)

I picked up a lab stirrer which should help with preventing glob formation...next time.

Cheers
John

Everclear 190 proof in some Alberta liquor stores.

I get my shellac from Vijay here: http://shellacfinishes.com/
Ultrafine quality, very fresh and excellent service. I strain through a coffee filter and get very little (if any) residual. His prices are pretty good and much better if you can get a bulk purchase together. We did a 25lb buy with our local Woodworking group and split it up among ourselves.

You can get 95% grain alcohol from the Liquor Control Board in Ontario with a script from your Dr.

Bob

When I lived in BC, I had a permit for purchasing 200 proof anhydrous ethyl. It was quite involved to get the permit. Had to prove you had a legit manufacturing business, had to be stored in a locking cabinet bolted to concrete, in a room with either no windows, or bars on the windows, where the room was also locked, and you had to have an alarm system. This all had to be inspected by the liquor control board prior to granting the permit. The permit has to be renewed every year, were you provide proof you are still in business. Didn't have to buy bulk. Could just pick up 500ml at a time. Permit had limits on how much you could have in your possession at any one time, and you were subject to random inspection. Which kind of blows my mind, since anhydrous ethyl substitutes the last little bit of water with benzene to get up to the full 100%, and drinking benzene will give you cancer, so I don't follow the logic of treating it as drinkable alcohol, but there you go.

I liked using it, because it was so pure, and free from water (other than what it pulled in from the air after opening the bottle), but I've also done FP with denatured alcohol, and didn't really notice much difference. I lived close to the US border, so just bought denatured from the hardware store and brought it back across.

Yo doc, needa script, REALLY hadda bad day & in the mood to tie one on ....

Went by shoppers yesterday & sure enough picked up a small bottle (250ml i think) of the 95% ethanol anhydrous for 3 bucks. They were outta the larger size, but it would have been i think $4.50 or so for 500ml.

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If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason. - Jack Handey

If you want 100% pure ethanol without denaturing etc, this is the place in Canada. They give you the info that you need to fax the LCBO to get the license (no fee and quick) and then you're set.

http://www.comalc.com/

David Wren http://www.wrenguitarworks.com

If you want 100% pure ethanol without denaturing etc, this is the place in Canada. They give you the info that you need to fax the LCBO to get the license (no fee and quick) and then you're set.

http://www.comalc.com/

David Wren http://www.wrenguitarworks.com