Can someone tell me what a new can of Zinsser Shellac should look like??
here’s why…. i thought it should be clear. Back in December, i opened two cans i had, one quart, never opened, one gallon, some used, and both were clear on top, milky at the bottom… i called Rustoleum and the tech person asked for pictures and the date stamp. i sent both and within 20 minutes she called back said they were no good, and sent me a check for them. So far so good, i thought.
So off i went to Home Depot and purchased a new one gallon clear.
Opened it up today, and same thing! Clear top half, sediment at bottom.
Called Rustoleum again, different rep. he looked up my claim, asked me if the new can looked like those photos in the my file. Yes sir, it looks identical.
His pronouncement “there’s nothing wrong with it”… Huh?
He said to stir it up well. so i got the power mixer on my drill and now it’s translucent white.
Any ideas what’s the accurate answer? Don’t want to ruin my work so i’ll be testing it on some scraps tomorrow….
Thanks!
Replies
Zinser has many shellac of different color and concentration, what is yours, Sealcoat, Bin clear sealer, Bulls eye Clear or else ?
Looks normal to me. I usually shake the can 10 min before I use it and dip some into a cup to work out of. Always a cloudy amberish look to it.
Zinsser Clear Shellac is a 'waxed' shellac product. Shellac is 'waxed' in many varieties. This is normal. When settled, the wax appears as a milky layer at the bottom of the container. This type of shellac must be mixed, stirred or shaken to homogenize the wax, shellac and carrier (alcohol).
Zinsser Seal Coat is a dewaxed shellac product. You will notice the waxed products state to "Thoroughly stir well before using" under the 'Application' part of the label. This sentence is missing from the Seal Coat label.
I do use a fair amount of Zinsser Seal Coat. It is a 2lb cut out of the can (2 pounds of shellac flakes to a gallon of alcohol) and is intended to be used this way for most things. I use various cuts for various tasks. Because of this I stir all my shellac before and during use although the label does not specifically tell you to stir the product.
There are times to use an unwaxed shellac specifically; as a sanding sealer, when using it as a barrier coat between incompatible finishes and arguably when using it under polyuerthane. Many folks report no issue when using waxed shellac under poly. I have never tried it.
It is more important to stir your waxed shellac product before and during use to maintain a consistent product during your application. Stir up your Clear Shellac product and apply it to a piece of scrap. It will dry in under an hour and you will notice no milky appearance once dry.
If you want a clearer finish with no colorants, use Seal Coat. Seal Coat will still impart an amber hue that darkens a bit with age. Clear shellac is darker initially and darkens more. This is a matter of small degrees. The darkening I speak of is the intensity of the amber hue we come to expect from shellac finishes.
Excellent! I THOUGHT i had Seal Coat, and that's why i was expecting it to be clear! Didn't even know they made two.
Thanks!
I went through the same exact issue two years ago myself.
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