Shellac Flakes Shelf Life

[segovia]

Hi

I have been able to establish that dissolved shellac flakes have a limited shelf life, i.e. just mix for what you need, small and frequent batches.

However, I have not been able to get authoritative advice on the shelf life of the flakes. I have some Liberon De waxed flakes that are probably 3 - 4 years old. They have been kept in an airtight container and in a dark cupboard.

They look Ok and they seem to mix OK although, as far as I can remember, they do not smell the same when mixed with the meth spirit.

Any advice welcome?

J

 

[marcros]

I have some that is several years old and it is fine. never paid any attention to the smell. is the meths fresh?

 

[segovia]

Yes , meths is reasonably fresh, 12 months possibly. Good question, does meths have a shelflife?

 

[custard]

However, I have not been able to get authoritative advice on the shelf life of the flakes.

There's two schools of thought. There's the break up the flakes, keep agitating, and you'll be fine camp. And there's the flakes don't keep longer than a few years and refined flakes are the worst camp.

It's probably a dancing on the head of a pin type argument in that, compared to the value of the project and your time, the cost of shellac is pretty trivial. So, even though I tend towards the first camp, if the flakes are looking clumpy then I ditch them and buy fresh. I have a glue clear out whenever the clocks change too. I might put 500+ hours and hundreds of pounds of timber into a project, so taking a risk by trying to save a few quid on materials is a bit daft.

 

[segovia]

Very true, the cost is negligible. I just don't like the waste, I'll probably throw it away and start fresh. I'll forget about it after a few days (;-)

 

[marcros]

can you make a spirit sanding sealer from old shellac- not sure what is in sealer other than a light cut?

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Interestingly perhaps, I recently dissolved shellac flakes I'd had in a plastic not entirely airtight food container for going on twenty years. I needed some shellac polish for a smallish job at home. They dissolved satisfactorily with a bit of stirring (I was also in something of a hurry) and applied the polish. That too has cured more than satisfactorily, and it's holding up well so far, a year or more.

As others have said, buying new flakes probably wouldn't break the bank, but it also wouldn't cost much to experiment with your existing old stuff and dissolve a little in a small jar to see if it's still good. Slainte.

 

[custard]

I wonder if this is more about the type of shellac?

Back in the day I mainly used button or garnett, and that stuff seemed to last decades rather than years. But the super blonde de-waxed that's more often used today? Not so much.

 

[segovia]

Interestingly perhaps, I recently dissolved shellac flakes I'd had in a plastic not entirely airtight food container for going on twenty years. I needed some shellac polish for a smallish job at home. They dissolved satisfactorily with a bit of stirring (I was also in something of a hurry) and applied the polish. That too has cured more than satisfactorily, and it's holding up well so far, a year or more.

As others have said, buying new flakes probably wouldn't break the bank, but it also wouldn't cost much to experiment with your existing old stuff and dissolve a little in a small jar to see if it's still good. Slainte.

Yes I have used some and it seems OK, I wonder if all this talk about shelf life is FALSE NEWS just to make us buy more?

I'll probably start again with new shellac and new spirit and put dates on the ingredients and make a note to self to throw away at some reasonable time in the not too distant future.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

I wonder if this is more about the type of shellac?

I must admit I can't say one way or another on that. I don't even know what type of shellac the old stuff was that I dissolved and used. It certainly isn't the very pale bleached stuff and dissolved into a pale brown so it is, presumably, relatively unrefined and waxy. Slainte.

 

[ED65]

A search online will show that there are many user reporting using shellac buttons or flakes that are 20, 30 and more years old that dissolve as normal and the resulting shellac dries fine.

But on the basis that you can take very old records and make ebonising polish from them it's clear that some shellac has a very long shelf life in solid form. Some of these records aren't just pre-war they're pre-Great War, so the shellac in them is 90-100 years old. However this isn't just pure shellac and the pigment in the records could well be providing a protective effect, opaque pigments usually do.

 

[segovia]

A search online will show that there are many user reporting using shellac buttons or flakes that are 20, 30 and more years old that dissolve as normal and the resulting shellac dries fine.

But on the basis that you can take very old records and make ebonising polish from them it's clear that some shellac has a very long shelf life in solid form. Some of these records aren't just pre-war they're pre-Great War, so the shellac in them is 90-100 years old. However this isn't just pure shellac and the pigment in the records could well be providing a protective effect, opaque pigments usually do.

If I can get through to Liberon today I'll give them a call and see what they say.