Shellac is perma-gelatin

gnachman · 2004-12-28T19:16:18+00:00

I'm trying to use Shellac flakes for the second time and am having sometrouble. The first time I used it they dissovled after about three dayswithout much fuss, but this go-round I've got a big blob of gelatin atthe bottom of my bottle that I can't get to dissolve. Here are thefacts of the case:* Bought blonde dewaxed shellac from Woodcraft on Thursday* About an hour later, I smashed it to smithereens with a hammer andadded it to brand new alcohol (in a well sealed plastic bottle, alsofrom Woodcraft) in a 2# cut* I tried adding it to the alcohol slowly and letting it dissolve, butit just sat at the bottom and stared at me desipte repeated stirrings,so I dumped it all in.* The bottle is a very well sealed glass jar with a rubber grommet anda metal latch - no chance of moisture getting in that I can see.* I put the bottle in a bath of warm water to speed the reaction* Come back four days later, and there's goopy shellac gelatin on thebottom, maybe about a quarter of the original volume, undissolved. I'vespent the last couple hours breaking it up, warming it, shaking it, andrepeating, and it's still just gelatin--the undissolved portion hasn'tchanged much.Is this shellac no good? Should I return it? Did I blow it in step 3 bybeing impatient? I still have another bottle of flakes in the fride andI don't want to screw up another batch.Thanks,George