Shellac, a beautiful and classic finish, is best made from fresh flakes. We offer only the finest quality grades of dry shellac which you mix with denatured alcohol*, Everclear or Mohawk Shellac Reducer to make the fresh shellac solution. This versatile finish can be brushed, wiped on (padded), or sprayed. It dries very fast and many finishes can be done in 2 days, including rubbing out. Shellac is very useful as a sealer coat and is an excellent medium for repair work because of its compatibility with other types of finishes. It is best to weigh the flakes (a small food portion scale is fine). However, you can easily make a rough 2-lb. cut from any of the flakes by filling an empty jar halfway with dry flakes, and then filling to the top with alcohol.
Dry shellac is sold in 1/4, 1/2 or 1 lb. plastic jars or a corrugated box if ordering 3+ lbs. of a single grade. Because shellac is a natural product and manufacturing processes vary from crop to crop, there may be variations in physical size and thickness of flakes from year to year.
* Denatured Alcohol – starting around 2015, most store bought denatured alcohol was re-formulated due to VOC regulations and may contain up to 40% methanol. This product will not say “shellac thinner” on the can. It will say camp stove fuel or glass cleaner. While you can use this product to dissolve shellac flakes, it is not ideal as it dries really fast. Also methanol is toxic and will pass through an organic vapor mask.
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NOTE: Samples below represent the color of the shellac on curly soft maple. Darker grades may show seasonal variations in color. Top half of sample shows 4 coats of shellac grade, bottom shows 2 coats.
DEWAXED BONA SHELLAC
This the one of the most beautiful colors of shellac we sell. If you use it as the entire shellac finish you can get very close to the antique/vintage looks on woods like spruce, maple and mahogany. It has just a bit of red in it and is sometimes referred to as “Ruby” shellac.
DEWAXED DARK GARNET SHELLAC
This dark product from India is the darkest shellac we sell. If you use it as the entire shellac finish you can get fairly dark tones on light woods and deep browns on darker woods like walnut. Unlike the Bona grade above, it has a somewhat neutral brown or “cool” color. If you have to build beyond several coats with dark varieties of shellac, we recommend spraying, as you may experience brush stroke marks. Many finishers use this color for the first two coats and then switch to a lighter color for the build coats.
SHELLAC ADDITIVES
SHELLAC-WET – This additive eliminates “fat edge” on sharp edges and improves flow-out and leveling of shellac when brushing or spraying. “Fat-edge” is a situation where shellac can roll-up on sharp edges. Shellac-Wet lowers the surface tension of your shellac solutions which eliminates “fat edge”. It also improves flow-out and leveling of the finish. When added to shellac, do not top coat with another type finish. Easy to use — simply add 6 drops of this concentrated solution per quart.
#7099 – $17.95 – 2 OZ. SQUEEZE BOTTLE
A HOMESTEAD EXCLUSIVE!
RESOURCES
Homestead Dry Flake Shellac MSDS
Shellac Wet #7099 MSDS
Shellac Flat #7080 MSDS
Liquid Shellac Conversion Ratios
History and Use of Shellac
Padding Shellac