Shellac

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Bob Orr
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Joined: Fri Dec 28, 2012 1:20 pm
Location: Nailsea, Nr Bristol, UK

Shellac

Post by Bob Orr »

Can someone tell me why you should use de waxed shellac on guitars and is there a way to de wax it yourself. The de waxed shellac flakes seem to be much more expensive.
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Bob Gramann
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Re: Shellac

Post by Bob Gramann »

So as not to leave you hanging, I’ll share my limited and perhaps incorrect knowledge on the subject. I believe the wax, which occurs naturally in the lac bug secretions, interferes with the adhesion if other finishes to the shellac. If shellac were to be the only finish applied, I believe the wax might be okay. I think you can remove the wax by pouring off the clear shellac after it is dissolved in the alcohol and settled, leaving the cloudy part behind. Eight ounces of dewaxed shellac flakes goes a long way when you are making a two pound cut (2 ounces in 8 ounces of alcohol). If you think of it that way, it won’t seem so expensive.
Alan Carruth
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Re: Shellac

Post by Alan Carruth »

De-waxed shellac doesn't stick to the pad as much when you're French polishing, and since Classical guitars have traditionally been French polished that's probably the main reason.

I have always used the 'tea-bag' method of dissolving shellac: put the shellac in a cloth bag and suspend it at the top of a jar of alcohol. The dissolved stuff settles to the bottom and pushes the clearer solvent to the top. You don't have to stir the thick shellac up off the bottom of the jar. When used with T-shirt material the wax particles of minimally processed seedlac are large enough to stay in the bag, along with the dirt, bark, and bug parts, at least if you don't squeeze the bag. This won't hold completely for most of the more refined shellacs, but it might help. Seedlac tends, in my experience, to be tougher than the more refined stuff, but it's also darker.
Bob Orr
Posts: 147
Joined: Fri Dec 28, 2012 1:20 pm
Location: Nailsea, Nr Bristol, UK

Re: Shellac

Post by Bob Orr »

Thanks for the replies guys.
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