Originally Posted by
Stanley Covington
I assumed the idea was to combine it with shellac flakes to make liquid shellac.
On the other hand, the OP was talking about Zinsser Bullseye, which is ready to go out of the can or aerosol can. Not much point is adding alcohol of any variety to Zinsser.
They
You can use alcohol to adjust the Zinser to the cut strength you need for your specific application. Zinser is a 3 pound cut, which is pretty hefty for a lot of uses. include a dilution formula on the can for the purpose. Sealing wood surfaces to prevent blotching typically wants a 1 pound cut, for example.
And with Everclear and other brands of beverage grade grain alcohol there are typically two versions, 150 proof and 190 proof. The very best for French polishing and other high end finishing is the 190 proof. Some locations do not permit sale of 190 proof; it is dangerous to drink in undiluted form. The 150 proof does pretty well for most uses, as it contains 25% water. Most denatured alcohol is around 40% water (which is one of its disadvantages by comparison).
Fair winds and following seas,
Jim Waldron