Wax in de-waxed shellac?

[Roger Jensen]

I have made two batches of shellac using Hock blonde de-waxed shellac from my local Woodcraft. I shake periodically for a week to dissolve the shellac in the Hock water free alchohol they sell at Woodcraft. When I look at the shellac, there are suspended solids in the bottom of the jar. Yesterday I filtered the shellac and collected a lot of jelly-like solids in the filter.

Is this wax that is still present even in de-waxed shellac? It isn't a white solid, which is the way wax looks in finishing books. I guess it doesn't matter as I'm filtering it out anyway, I'm just curious.

Thanks for your help.

Roger

[Neal Clayton]

this is the second thread in a month or so about contaminants and/or dissolution problems with that woodcraft brand shellac.

not sure what the foreign matter is in yours, but as mentioned in the last thread, i've never had a bad batch from shellac.net

[Roger Jensen]

Thanks - I guess it is time to try something new. I try to shop at the local Woodcraft when I can (I don't want everything to come from Internet merchants), but I'm not willing to risk my finish.

[Thomas Bank]

I bought HOCK shellac flakes a few years ago and am still using from the original bags and have never had a problem. Is that what you have or is Woodcraft selling a "house" brand.

[Roger Jensen]

It is the actual Hock brand, which I considered a top brand. The price of shellac (especially blonde) has skyrocketed lately, so perhaps they are having trouble getting good quality flakes. Jeff at Target Coatings said they have discontinued blonde shellac sealer due to raw material costs.

[Prashun Patel]

I'm not sure there is a such thing as 'water-free alcohol' - at least not in conditions we could maintain at home. As soon as you open the jar, even anhydrous ethanol and methanol, and IPA will both absorb up to 5% water.

That being said, I don't think it's a problem.

[Roger Jensen]

I'm not sure there is a such thing as 'water-free alcohol' - at least not in conditions we could maintain at home. As soon as you open the jar, even anhydrous ethanol and methanol, and IPA will both absorb up to 5% water.

That being said, I don't think it's a problem.

Yea, I know it is just a marketing gimmick, but I bought it with the believe it would be at least as good or better than the bulk cans from HD in terms of contaminants. I still think the problem is in the flakes, I only included the note about where the alcohol came from to help folks rule that out as the cause.

Thanks,

Roger

[Thomas Bank]

Hmm... Looking online, both the Woodcraft price for Hock and the shellacnet prices are right around $20 a pound. I seem to recall that is about what I paid years ago - although probably under $20 instead of over it. My memory could be a bit fuzzy over the price, though.

As a natural product, I could see that seasonal variations could easily affect price and quality like any other harvested product.

[Don Selke]

I use to mix my own shellac but have switched to seal coat. I have been using it for two years now and have never had a probem. I make sure that the date on the can is current.

[Roger Jensen]

I use to mix my own shellac but have switched to seal coat. I have been using it for two years now and have never had a probem. I make sure that the date on the can is current.

I had considered that, but there appears to be a compatibility issue between Zinsser SealCoat and Target Coatings topcoats. Jeff has posted on his site that there is a potential problem with Zinsser SealCoat and WB finished due to the pH (probably very small chance). Since I'm using Target Coatings for my top coats I figured I'd be safe and mix it up the shellac, since it is normally pretty easy to do.

Thanks,

Roger

[Steve Nearman]

Its common for lower grades of shellac to have some impurities.

To de-wax shellac just let it sit for a few days and pore off what is on top (decant). The wax will be on the bottom.

Sealcoat has a dark amber color that will effect your color. You can decant Zinsser blond (which is waxed) to get a light colored de-waxed shellac. What is left makes a good friction polish for lathe work.

[Tom Henderson2]

I have made two batches of shellac using Hock blonde de-waxed shellac from my local Woodcraft. I shake periodically for a week to dissolve the shellac in the Hock water free alchohol they sell at Woodcraft. When I look at the shellac, there are suspended solids in the bottom of the jar. Yesterday I filtered the shellac and collected a lot of jelly-like solids in the filter.

Is this wax that is still present even in de-waxed shellac? It isn't a white solid, which is the way wax looks in finishing books. I guess it doesn't matter as I'm filtering it out anyway, I'm just curious.

Thanks for your help.

Roger

Hi Roger-

I recently ordered some shellac and alcohol from Hock so your post is timely. I've never mixed the stuff before, so I was wondering what your method was...

For example... how much do you mix at one time? What kind of container do you use? Do you have a simple method of mixing less than a pound at a time? Finally, how did you filter it?

Sorry for the barrage of newbie questions... thanks in advance for your help and patience.

-Tom H.