Help on Shellac Flakes

[Hilel Salomon]

I had met Jimmy Clewes in Richmond and he was quite charming, so the other day I revisited his dvd's. He dealt with spunky wood by using a shellac mixture-flakes diluted in alcohol, and w/in hours of looking at the dvd, I came across a spalted maple blank that had punky wood. Found a bag of shellac flakes and tried to dilute it w/alcohol, but it simply doesn't dissolve. What am I doing wrong? Admittedly, the unopened bag was not new... it had "Property of the Confederate States of America" stamped on it. I assumed that regardless of age, it would rapidly dissolve in alcohol-I know that my bad moods do-but don't know what to do.
Thanks, Hilel.

[Terry Quiram]

Hilel

The smaller the flakes the faster it disolves. I powder mine before I mix up a batch. You need to shake the alcohol/shellac mix periodically or it settles into a lump on the bottom. Buy an alcohol made specifically for Shellac. I think Woodcraft sells some. I have never had Shellac flake desolve "rapidly". It takes at least a day.

[Ron Drew]

The flakes can take 24 hrs or more to completely dissolve Hilel. Warming can help, as can a periodic stirring. All that being said, I do think the flakes will loose their ability to dissolve over time. I like to buy mine fresh from Homestead Finishing and never have a problem. However, I have tried to dissolve flakes that I had for 2 or 3 yrs, and they didn't completely dissolve. Hope this helps.

[Curt Fuller]

Hilel, I too have had my bad moods dissolve quite nicely in alcohol. It seems like a shame to waste it on shellac flakes.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I agree with Terry and Ron, Hilel. I have never had the flakes dissolve instantly. I use denatured alcohol and if the shellac I have is more than 2yrs or so old I buy new. It takes about a day or so of stirring and/or shaking to get it dissolve completely.

[Cary Swoveland]

Hilel
...I powder mine before I mix up a batch...

With a $10 coffee grinder, I expect. That's what I use.

Cary