Take an empty jar with a lid and fill halfway with orange shellac flakes.
Pour in methylated spirits until the receptacle is three-quarters full.
Alcohol will have flowed between the flakes and displaced most of the air.
Gently swirl the jar to get rid of any trapped air bubbles.
Top up to the ¾ level again with alcohol.
Cap and shake 4 or 5 times. Leave to stand, but continue to agitate the mixture every 5 minutes over half an hour.
Shake the mixture vigorously for 2 minutes to produce a smooth shellac varnish.
This will give you a roughly 2-pound cut mixture of orange shellac.
There will be some impurities and sediment which are best left to settle before use.
BLONDE SHELLAC
Take an empty jar with a lid and fill only one-third way with blonde shellac flakes.
Pour in methylated spirits until the receptacle is three-quarters full.
Alcohol will have flowed between the flakes and displaced most of the air.
Gently swirl the jar to get rid of any trapped air bubbles.
Top up to the ¾ level again with alcohol.
Cap and shake 4 or 5 times. Leave to stand, but continue to agitate the mixture every 5 minutes over 3 hours or a bit more until the flakes have all dissolved.
Shake the mixture vigorously for 3 minutes to produce a smooth shellac varnish.
This will give you a roughly 2-pound cut mixture of blonde shellac.
There will be some impurities and sediment which are best left to settle before use.
NOTES ON SHELLAC
Blonde shellac flakes are coarser than orange, and require more alcohol per volume to make the same viscosity of liquid shellac as the other.
As a result, blonde shellac flakes take longer to dissolve.
IMPORTANT. If you skimp on agitation, shellac tends to form a layer on the bottom of the jar which will NOT dissolve. You have one crack at it.
The shelf life of shellac flakes is indefinite.
The shelf life of mixed (or liquid) shellac is about 1 year if stored out of direct light in a cool spot, and we recommend you keep it in the house rather than in a garage which can get very hot.
As with all chemicals, store shellac mixtures in an animal and child-proof store.
Mixed shellac which has reached expiry will not dry fully and remain ‘cheesy,’ but can still be used as a first coater in safety. Another coat of shellac or other sealer will dry over this.
These recipes are for basic shellac mixes and should be diluted more for French Polishing.
Blonde shellac may be diluted with clear methylated spirits at this stage to avoid over-colouring with purple.
Old stock Blonde shellac does not readily dissolve and should be crushed a bit finer with a pestle and mortar or suitable grinder before mixing.