What do you mix shallac in?

[Raif Harik]

Hi, I'm getting frustrated mixing my dang shellac. I've use pickle jars and they seem to maintain the seal for one or two batches then they are worthless. Tried a couple of plastic bottles, but you can't really see in em to see if it's dissolved yet. I'm thinking of ordering some mason jars but a) there are two kinds, two part lids and one part lids and b) I don't want to order them and find they don't work either.
So here I am, asking what y'all use. I usually dont make a whole lot, just 4-8 oz
Thanks
Raif

 

[JeffSmith]

I used recycled jars from the kitchen and have found the same problem. I started keeping a roll of Saran Wrap (or whatever type that’s handy. It helps keep a seal on the jar when it doesn’t get used very often. I just cut a small square and put it under the lid when it goes on. Seems to work.

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

I mix in a plastic Rockler kit jar and have hd the same one for maybe 20 years. As to storage after I use either 4 oz medicine bottles (occupational connections) or jars like a pickle jar or jelly jar with one piece top and built in plastic seal. If it gets gunked up , easy to replace from my collection. Yes I save a few extras. Never had good luck with the two piece lids. If a lid sticks I just poor on a little DNA while turning the jar upside down and let it sit a few minutes. I have some in the shop now and noticed this week it was mixed in 2023 and may be a little slow curing but still works.

 

[Richard Coers]

We eat enough pickles around here, that jars are no problems. Maybe you should switch to smaller jars of pickles to get a better supply. It seems wasteful to buy containers for mixing shellac.

 

[Jon Rista]

Hi, I'm getting frustrated mixing my dang shellac. I've use pickle jars and they seem to maintain the seal for one or two batches then they are worthless. Tried a couple of plastic bottles, but you can't really see in em to see if it's dissolved yet. I'm thinking of ordering some mason jars but a) there are two kinds, two part lids and one part lids and b) I don't want to order them and find they don't work either.
So here I am, asking what y'all use. I usually dont make a whole lot, just 4-8 oz
Thanks
Raif

I've had a lot of problems with shellac and various shellac-based finishes not lasting very long at all. Couple of months, tops. I used to mix a fair amount of O.B. Shine Juice at a time, but in the long run, I found it only worked really well the first few times I used it, then it simply wouldn't shine. Didn't matter what I did.

So I started making micro batches. Enough for one thing at a time, basically, and stored these in very tiny bottles:

Amazon.com

I still have a bunch of these left, but sadly this particular form is no longer sold on Amazon. Hoping I can find them elsewhere, as I prefer the yorker style bottles over the other styles that are available. In any case, I like these, as I can fill them to the brim, and put on the caps, which initially are non-punctured, meaning there is only a TINY big of oxygen in there. I've used these to store oils, including danish oil (a drying oil finish), and they have kept for a very long time doing that. Shellac can last for a while, but, the general idea with anything shellac based, is to just mix up what you need on demand, and never store it. If you DO have some left over, with these little bottles, its easy to squeeze out any excess air and seal them, and it will usually last longer that way, if necessary.

I generally try to avoid mixing much more than 2-3 of these at a time, which will usually work for a single project (unless its a rather large item, which is sometimes the case with platters, in which case I'll mix a 4oz or larger bottle as necessary with the knowledge I'm going to use it all right away.)

 

[Roger Wiegand]

I inherited some of these wide mouth glass media bottles when closing my last lab. https://www.fishersci.com/shop/prod...s-7/02913067#?keyword=media bottle wide mouth
The plastic rim on the bottle seems to eliminate the issue of the lid sticking to the jar. They seal very well. They are absurdly expensive to buy new, but can often be found at a used lab equipment dealer. Perhaps on the auction site, but I haven't looked.

 

[Darryl Fective]

If you wipe the top and rim, the container will work longer. A rag with straight alcohol should clean things up pretty easily. Working with a painter friend taught me to touch the brush to the inside of a container (never the rim) and to clean the lid and mating surfaces whenever paint or finish is opened.

I've kept a plastic Jif peanut butter jar in my shop with just an inch or 2 of shellac for a long time. It has darkened a bit because a chip brush is sometimes left in it. The lid never sealed perfectly, so it just gets stirred (not shaken) and occasionally needs more alcohol added.

 

[Fred Hargis]

I use canning jars with the plastic one piece storage lids. I use the pints for small batches, but typically mix in a quart jar to have more room for the sloshing around when I stir it. To avoid the lids getting bonded to the glass I put a piece of wax paper between the lid and the jar. That usually has to be replaced each time you open the jar. You can write what the shellac is and the cut on the plastic lid with a Sharpie, then wipe it off with DNA once you've used it. I almost always have some stuck in the bottom of the jar after I've used the contents, but soaking it in a bucket with warm water and ammonia removes it all. It's a lot easier to use wide mouth jars, versus the standard ones.

 

[John K Jordan]

So I started making micro batches. Enough for one thing at a time, basically, and stored these in very tiny bottles:

I’ve bought 100s of plastic bottles of various sizes from kalkaa.com
They carried every size and type imaginable.

This was during the covid pandemic and I was making and distributing hand sanitizer to local charities, food distribution places, family and friends, and stangers I ran into everywhere. Hand sanitizer became impossible to buy, except from hoarders at 2000% markup. I had a few gallons of alcohol from the farm store but couldn’t find any more.



Then the most amazing thing happened. A wonderful gentleman from saw my post on another forum and mixed up and shipped me metal cans with 16 GALLONS of hand sanitizer from his company in another state. So I ordered more bottles.

One potential problem with plastic - oxygen and moisture can pass through the plastic. Don’t know if that affects shellac but it sure does polymerizing finishes and CA glue. Glass or metal is better for such things. If you don’t like the canning jar rings and flats (lids) you can buy good plastic lids that fit. I do this when I sell quarts of honey from my beehives.

JKJ

 

[Asher Langton]

Hi, I'm getting frustrated mixing my dang shellac. I've use pickle jars and they seem to maintain the seal for one or two batches then they are worthless. Tried a couple of plastic bottles, but you can't really see in em to see if it's dissolved yet. I'm thinking of ordering some mason jars but a) there are two kinds, two part lids and one part lids and b) I don't want to order them and find they don't work either.
So here I am, asking what y'all use. I usually dont make a whole lot, just 4-8 oz
Thanks
Raif

I use plastic takeout soup containers. We always have plenty of those. Once the shellac is dissolved, I transfer it to a StopLossBag, and just dispense what I need in two small condiment-style bottles, one (thinned with more alcohol) as a sanding sealer and the other for finish.

 

[Raif Harik]

This is great information. I think the best or at least yummiest suggestion is to buy smaller jars of pickles and more of them. Try and keep em clean and when they are too gunked up toss em.
JKJ great story, I love the good will that good will generates.