BT&C Tiger Flakes Shellac

I used to have a low opinion about shellac. The bottles of shellac I got growing up would go on like goop and never dry right. It was years later that I found that the problem was that once shellac is mixed up, it starts to age. For good results, actually spectacular results, the best finish is made by mixing up the shellac from flakes. It's easy to do. Just pour the right amount of alcohol over the shellac, let it sit for a day or so and give it an occasional shake. And fresh shellac is a great finish: easy to apply, very forgiving of mistakes, quick drying, and non-toxic. You can brush it on, rub it on, spray it, or do a French polish. Shellac finishes are enjoying a real revival for these good reasons. This German Shellac is the highest quality, cleanest, clearest shellac available on the market. It's refined in Germany and is as pure as is available. Shellac naturally comes mixed with wax but these shellacs are all "dewaxed," which means the wax has been removed for a harder, clearer, and easier-to-apply finish. The super blond is the clearest of the shellacs. Blond shellac has a little color to it but not much. Amber (which is also called orange) shellac has still more color, and Garnet is the darkest. Lots of people like using amber and garnet because these colors gives the wood such character.

Shellac is a secretion of the Lac beetle, which lives on trees in India. In the past few years the climate where the beetles live has changed and the crop has failed for more than three years in a row. This has sent prices skyrocketing. While the shelf life of waxed shellac flakes is very long, dewaxed shellac like this is far more fragile. Packed in a resealable nylon impregnated plastic bag with a desiccant and oxygen absorber to prolong shelf life. For best results store in a sealed container in a cool dry place. To speed up dissolve times, just before mixing with alcohol break up the flakes to the size of lentils. Agitate frequently when dissolving the flakes in alcohol.

Available in one-half and two pound quantities.

Imported from Germany.

While you can buy shellac premixed and ready to use, I prefer to buy it in flake form and mix my own - in large part because I can easily control the cut (the thickness), and I have a lot more choice when it comes to colors; premixed is widely available only in orange and clear. I use a lot of the garnet; it does a nice job of warming up the purple cast of steamed walnut, and adding a little red to freshly planed cherry (pink is not my color). I also sprayed two coats of garnet on my pine floors in my guest bathroom - instant “pumpkin pine” - then topcoated with water-based poly (yes, you can put water-based poly over shellac, as long as the shellac is dewaxed).,,The shellac brand we prefer at Lost Art Press is “Tiger Flakes,” from Tools for Working Wood.
Megan Fitzpatrick, “Time-Tested Finishes that Just Work,”Fine Woodworking magazine