mixing shellac

Just swirl them around every now and then. This time tomorrow it'll be dissolved nicely.

Depends a lot on the cut, the temperature, and how often you shake or stir it. I've seen it take several days, left sitting in a cool basement shop. What I do is to put it into a pot of hot -- almost boiling -- water. I stir it every 10 minutes or so and a 3-lb cut takes maybe 30-60 minutes to dissolve completely.

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John

More than 1/2 hour. More like several hours. Warmer solvent will dissolve whatever is soluble much faster, like 2x for each 20 degrees, so if you are looking for fast dissolving, don't do it in a cold garage.

I grind my flakes in a coffee grinder to get them to a powder state, this also helps dissolve them faster.

It can be a PITA to dissolve sometimes especially if the flakes have clumped up and are sticking together. It's best to mix it a few days ahead of time and shake it several times each day.

Here's something that worked for me. I had a few errands to run, and some shellac to mix. So I put the shellac flakes and alcohol in a mason jar, and took it with me on the front seat of the truck. Every so often, I'd reach over and give the jar a shake. By the time I got back home (two hours, thirty miles, and four stops later) the shellac was completely dissolved.

If you go powder, you have to shake or you get a lump. I want to hear a rattle.

I use Doug's method during Sunday afternoon football for my normal 1# cut. It's done by halftime. A 2# cut could take the whole game.

So, how does that make the coffee taste? ;-) Tim Douglass

Like M&Ms :-).

Dunno. I don't drink coffee.

I usually make a 1 lb cut and it takes maybe 24-36 hours at house room temperature. I try to stir it every 30 minutes or so after I first mix it, but then usually it ends up sitting for a while and the flakes merge together into a mass on the bottom of the jar. I try to dislodge it and break it up.

Do like they do in the chem. lab (or with spray cans) and put a glass marble in your plastic bottle to help agitate.