Zinnser amber shellac

[Jeff]

Bought a can a few days ago because the BORG was out of Zinsser Seal Coat, which I prefer. I've never tried their other shellac products, but should I have been surprised? :dontknow:

Really cloudy and murky looking stuff right out of the can. Is that the wax which is insoluble in the alcohol and settles to the bottom of the container? It sprayed okay as a 1# cut without fouling my HVLP unit.

Just curious for future reference and thanks to all in advance. :help:

 

[Cato]

I have used the amber with good results and mine was not cloudy. It is however not dewaxed as the seal coat is. I think that is correct but others here may chime in.

I got a beautiful finish with it on walnut and had no issues.

 

[Charles Lent]

I agree with Bob (CATO). Amber shellac is not dewaxed like their seal coat, so putting it under another finish could produce problems. However, I have used it under oil based polyurethane by rubbing the surface of the dried shellac with 000 grade steel wool just enough to take the sheen off of the shellac. This seems to have provided the needed gripping surface for the polyurethane to bond. Why did I do this? Because SWMBO changed my mind midstream. At least it worked out OK.

Charley

 

[Larry Rose]

I use amber shelac a lot. Either by it's self or under poly or oil varnish blends. Never any problems. I thin to at least 1 1/2 lb cut or more.

 

[Howard Acheson]

Zinsser Amber and Zinsser Garnet are different from Zinsser Seal Coat.

Seal Coat: 100% dewaxed, 2# cut, blond color. Can be used under oil based poly varnish and waterborne acrylic finishes.

Amber & Garnet (orange): Contains the natural wax in shellac. 3# cut. Can NOT be used underneath oil based poly varnish or waterborne finishes. Can be used under non-poly oil based varnish. Are also much less water and water vapor resistant.

The cloudiness you see is the wax in the shellac. You must stir in the wax before using. The Amber and Garnet are too thick for good brushing. They must be cut with denatured alcohol to about half their out-of-can cut.

 

[PeteM]

The cloudiness you see is the wax in the shellac. You must stir in the wax before using.

. . . or you can let it sit, let the wax settle to the bottom of the jar and pore off the clear stuff on top and you now have dewaxed amber shellac.

pete

 

[Jeff]

Thanks folks. That's good info for me. I just didn't expect that much solids in the stuff, but the MSDS says about 29% solids by volume.

Now I have to figure out a way to siphon the good shellac off of the top layer without disturbing the wax crud in the bottom. :help: