Mixing Shellac

[Aaron Beaver]

I was told to use 1 oz shellac and 8 oz of denatured alcohol. I assume the 1 oz shellac is a dry measurement (weight) and the 8 oz is a liquid measurement.

Is all I do is put it in a jar with a lid on it for 24 hours until it dissolves?
Thanks

[Jerry Olexa]

Its helpful also to 1, Crush the flakes before putting them in solution ( I simply put mine inside an old T shirt and bang gently w a hammer till pulverized) 2, Place the solution in a jar but partially immersed in warm water and 3, shake the mixture whenever you are in the shop. All of the above speeds the process. G'Luck...

[Calvin Hobbs]

That's it pretty much.

I like to crush the flakes a little bit before mixing, so they dissolve faster, plus I check it every once in a while, turn it over, shake it up, etc. to keep from having a big block of shellac slag on the bottom. But even this would eventually dissolve. It's pretty easy.

Cal

edit: it looks like Jerry beat me to it, but we're on the same page, thank goodness...

[Carl Eyman]

I have a yard sale Waring Blender that I use first to pulverize the flakes dry and then to help mix in the alcohol. You still have to let it soak over nigh though.

[Jim Becker]

Same idea as Carl...an el-cheapo coffee grinder (the blender type) is great for processing the flakes before trying to disolve them in the alcohol or Bekhol. And also as he states, you need to mix your shellac up from flakes a day or two before you need it...it takes time to disolve.

[Tim Sproul]

With the shellac flakes I've used and my method of dissolving, grinding hasn't sped up the process.

I shake the bottle whenever I remember to. Other than that, it may take awhile to dissolve.

1 oz weight of shellac into 8 oz liquid alcohol is a 1 pound cut. That tends to dissolve rapidly....as in overnight. 3 pound cuts tend to take a few nights, IME.