free flow agent for shellac

[taiwanluthiers]

I notice shellac tends to clump together, more so than any other chemicals I've seen...

 

Is there anything I can add to the shellac to keep it from sticking together?

[Potassiumchlorate]

Silicon dioxide, also known as Cab-o-sil, add 1% by weight.

 

I think it also depends on your type of shellac. Mine looks like this.

[taiwanluthiers]

I am using shellac flakes, its not in fine powder... what kind of shellac is that, blond or garnet? I am using light shellac, I also use it for french polishing... I milled it into a powder with a blender figuring that it would dissolve faster if I am actually going to french polish with it. I wonder if the cab o sil will affect it as a finish?

[Potassiumchlorate]

It's lemon. I bought it in that state. It takes many hours to get the shellac as fine as that, even in a ball mill.

 

If you are going to use it outside pyrotechnics, I suggest that you dissolve it in alcohol as it is.

[taiwanluthiers]

It's not a good idea to leave them in alcohol too long... because the shellac can react with water to form something that would never dry.

[Potassiumchlorate]

Yes, once dissolved in alcohol, shellac becomes hygroscopic. And the alcohol is a bit hygroscopic in itself, at least ethanol and methanol. Isopropanol is 99.5% pure, though. But use the method with boiling the alcohol in a jar in a pan/kettle with water and use it immediately after you have dissolved it.