I am about to have my first experience with flake shellac. I understand you mix it with denatured alcohol and let it sit if you want “dewaxed” shellac. How long does it need to sit before use? How much of the mixture volume will end up as wax? I mixed 3/4 cup flakes and 3/4 cup alcohol by volume for both parts. What should I expect as far as useable finish material. The project to be finished is a writing arm windsor chair which has been stained with minwax stain. How long should the stain dry before applying the shellac?
I know there are a lot of books out on finishing——but sometimes this forum is a great shortcut from sifting through a lot of books. 🙂
Jerry
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The shellac will dissolve much faster if you keep agitating it until dissolved. Then you can let it set to let the wax settle out. The answer to how long is basically "it depends". You will see a definate demarcation, with clear solution above and cloudy below. You then decant the clear solution to get dewaxed shellac. While the dewaxed shellac is a bit more water resistant than the shellac with wax, the principal advantage of the dewaxed is if you plan to put polyurethane varnish (oil based or waterborne) on top. Poly won't stick to shellac with wax. However, traditional resin varnishes (alkyd or phenolic) will adhere to shellac with wax, and will look better to boot.
You can buy shellac flakes which are already dewaxed, a major time saver and probably more completely dewaxed than can be done by you or me.
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