Alcohol for shellac

W

Wrothgar

Curious about Wooden Canoes
What's the best alcohol for mixing shellac flakes before varnishing? I can get 99% isopropyl, but it takes a few days to come in. I'm in Canada...so cheap drinkable stuff doesn't exist. I'd prefer to stay away from methyl hydrate...which is the easiest stuff to find around here. I will be mixing with lacquer thinner after dissolving.
 
Shellac flakes are most often dissolved in ethyl alcohol. The stuff we can easily get here at the Home Depot, etc. is now labeled 'fuel alcohol'. Don't know the labeling requirements in Canada. This is the stuff previously labeled denatured alcohol, which was ethanol mixed with some methanol (what the Ice Road Truckers call methyl hydrate) and maybe other stuff to make it poisonous if consumed, and typically also contains 5% or so water. I'm not aware of any reason to use a more expensive solvent for this purpose. TM...
 
I did some checking a while ago by looking at material data sheets The alcohol Sherwinn Williams sells turned out to have the highest percentage of ethanol. Hardware store brands had a lot more methanol. Supposedly ethanol is a superior solvent for shellac. Don't know if the SW stores in Canada carry the same product. It is sold under the name Startex.
 
Don't know about in your location but here in northern California, you can't buy alcohol at the hardware store but some gas suppliers (acetylene etc.) have it in bulk and you bring your own container. No idea why.
 
Depending on where you live, you may be able to get 190 proof grain alcohol (e.g. Everclear) at your local liquor shop.

You might also be able to find a vendor selling Behlen's Behkol.

These will both be more expensive than regular denatured alcohol from the hardware store.
 
I found a bottle I had set aside of 99% isopropyl. I wonder if it's enough. For a 15 foot chestnut, approximately what volume of shellac would people typically use? I think it would be 2 coats.
 
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