Shellac flake experiment

[Jeff]

I've been very pleased with Zinsser SealCoat dewaxed shellac over the past 3 years, but decided to try some dewaxed Garnet flakes today just for a change of pace and appearance on a cherry/soft maple plaque. It's way too humid today to apply it to the test scraps and avoid "blushing".

Supposedly these are high quality dewaxed flakes from Germany (they used to be sold by Hock Tools).

http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/...creen=PROD&Store_Code=toolshop&Product_Code=M

Powdered 4 oz. in the household blender for awhile and added 8 oz. of "dry" alcohol. Blended again and poured into a mason jar. Put another 8 oz. of alcohol in the blender, whipped it up, and added it to the first batch for a total of 16 oz (1 pint). It should be a 2 lb. cut according to the chart below.

file:///Users/scharver/Desktop/Shellac%20Pound%20Cut%20Mixing%20Chart.webarchive

It's a pretty dark solution, but the best that I can tell it's fairly clear so I may not need to pour it through a coffee filter. :dontknow:

A chemist doing a chemist's thing so to speak. Cleanup was easy with some household ammonia from Dollar General. The blender is clean as a whistle (maybe even cleaner). You're not gonna poison your family or your daiquiris and margaritas by using the blender. Shellac is FDA approved for food use and children's toys, etc. :icon_cheers

 

[Glennbear]

I feel it would be prudent to warn those who use Jeff's method that there may be possible unpleasant side effects: :rotflm:These effects can be negated by consultation with other household members prior to the use of kitchen appliances for finish mixing.

 

[Jeff]

I feel it would be prudent to warn those who use Jeff's method that there may be possible unpleasant side effects: :rotflm:These effects can be negated by consultation with other household members prior to the use of kitchen appliances for finish mixing.

I understand and appreciate the point being made. I agree entirely, but we're not mixing nasty stuff here. If you fully understand what you're doing and can explain it clearly to your family members then you should be okay and you're not putting them or yourself at risk. Personally, I'm ok with the shellac, but I wouldn't go beyond that. Shellac is FDA approved for human "consumption", but we don't necessarily eat it.

 

[gator]

I think Glennbear is only thinking about what the 'ruler of the kitchen' will say about using the kitchenware for an unorthodox purpose. But, I do agree with your comment that shellac is safe. Most of the time, the shiny surface on pills and candy is shellac so whenever you take your medicine or fill your sweetooth, you are ingesting shellac.

George

 

[Tarhead]

I disolve my shellac flakes in a Mason jar and have had very fast results sitting the jar of disolving shellac/DNA in a larger container of hot tap water. I only add a quarter of the flakes I plan to use at a time, let it sit for a few minutes, shake it and add the next 1/4. If I add the whole amount of flakes (even powdered) I plan to use, I end up with a big clump of solid shellac in the bottom of the jar and have to bust it up with a wooden spoon and it takes forever for it to dissolve. A cheap coffee/spice grinder works well for grinding up shellac flakes if you want to do that (check Goodwill) and you stay out of the doghouse with the cook/OSHA/EPA/Glenn/:gar-Bi. Warm DNA works so well you may decide you don't need to grind the flakes.

Mark (getting ready for 23hrs of travel home from Queenstown, NZ)

 

[richlife]

I typically only prepare small amounts of shellac at a time in small jars I keep for the purpose. Shelf life for liquid mix shellac is only about six months and I mostly use it for small projects. (That one custom black walnut replacement table leaf that had to match the damaged one was a real bear and took a LOT of shellac -- mostly because I had to keep stripping it off and retrying to get the finished look right.)

I have no qualms about using my coffee grinder, but I just don't want to walk to the house to do it. (And doing it to the whole container of flakes would result long term in one solid mass that would take a hammer to break up :eusa_naug .) I came up with this simple solution.

Take a piece of craft or similar stiff paper about 10" long by 5" wide, fold it about in half across the center but leaving a 1/2" "lip". Fold the sides over to create a small "envelop". Put in a couple of tablespoons of flakes, fold over the top to enclose and then take a roller (veneer roller, rolling pin, whatever you have) and roll the flakes into crumbs. Turn it over and roll again, shake the crumbs into the bottom and roll both sides again (all this just makes for smaller crumbs from dust to grain to tiny flake size). Now the lip you left makes it easy to pour into the alchohol. Pretty much all done in the time it would take me to get the coffee grinder. Rich

 

[Travis Porter]

I do shellac flakes, but I have never put them in the blender. I have always just mixed them in with the DNA and shake it every so often until they are dissolved. Does putting them in the blender make the dissolving process faster or better?

 

[Jeff]

I do shellac flakes, but I have never put them in the blender. I have always just mixed them in with the DNA and shake it every so often until they are dissolved. Does putting them in the blender make the dissolving process faster or better?

Travis,

Grinding or pulverizing the flakes into a powder will greatly increase the surface area of the pieces. That'll make them dissolve faster. I don't think that it makes the process any better other than less dissolution time.

 

[gator]

You can get a $10 coffee grinder at WallyWorld. It takes flakes down to powder very quickly and you can leave it in the shop without using any of Momma's kitchen equipment.

George

 

[CarvedTones]

I have SealCoat dewaxed and I have some waxy flakes. If it is ever a surprise that I need shellac, it is usually as a barrier coat and I use the SealCoat. A lot of what I learned about flake shellac includes some folklore (very old texts on making musical instruments; one even has numerology justifications for amounts to measure and which specific hours of the day it can be mixed and used) but the idea of allowing it to sit for some time after it has dissolved is pretty prevalent. That doesn't mean it is needed, but it obviously works well when you do let it sit, so I don't see any benefit unless you are in a hurry and I am really not sure that flake shellac is the right finish if you are.

 

[Jeff]

I have SealCoat dewaxed and I have some waxy flakes. If it is ever a surprise that I need shellac, it is usually as a barrier coat and I use the SealCoat. A lot of what I learned about flake shellac includes some folklore (very old texts on making musical instruments; one even has numerology justifications for amounts to measure and which specific hours of the day it can be mixed and used) but the idea of allowing it to sit for some time after it has dissolved is pretty prevalent. That doesn't mean it is needed, but it obviously works well when you do let it sit, so I don't see any benefit unless you are in a hurry and I am really not sure that flake shellac is the right finish if you are.

Andy,

Good point. I put some "Garnet" shellac from flakes (2 coats of a 2# cut) on some soft maple trimmed in a cherry border. Did the same with Zinsser "SealCoat" for comparison. I couldn't see much difference. LOML looked at it too, and she has a good color eye; she couldn't see much difference either. :icon_scra So why bother when Zinsser is good out of the can with a good shelf life compared to our homemade mixes? :dontknow: