edison fireside, wood restoration

[martinola]

Hi Kirtley.
From my brief visit to Wikipedia, "white spirit" is what we in the US refer to as "Mineral Spirits" or "Paint Thinner". I use that to degrease and de-wax a finish prior to re-amalgamation. It looks like what you'll need may be called "methylated spirits" in your country. Its poisonous stuff, so don't drink it. (I'll PM a long-winded description of the process I wrote up for a now-defunct message board.)
Regards,
Martin

[kirtley2012]

Hi martin
I think metholated spirits are the right thing to usee, thanks!

[gramophoneshane]

Yes, metholated spirits is correct. It is a Methyl Alcohol (or Methanol) which was once commonly distilled from wood, & this is the only type of alcohol that should be used with shellac. As Retrograde pointed out, it's called Denatured Alcohol in USA.
You have to be very careful with the terminology used by Americans, because it can be very different to what the rest of the world uses.
Alang mentioned isopropyl alcohol, which is a completely different type of alcohol that is unsuitable for use with shellac, as it has a high water content. This is what we would call rubbing alcohol (what some athletes get massaged with), and is the type doctors use to swab your skin before an injection. Because of it's high water volume, I wouldn't recommend using it on diamond discs either.
White spirits and mineral spirits is what is (was) commonly used for dry cleaning, and is basically a low odor substitute for mineral turps (turpentine). These are normally used to thin turpentine based paints, and to remove wax from furniture finishes.
If you see someone recommend Naphtha, it's the stuff used in Zippo lighters & some old camping stoves, irons (for ironing clothes) & tools like soldering irons. Im not sure what you call it in the UK, but over here it used to be sold as Shellite.
It's usually a good idea to check Wikipedia for any of the solvent type products mentioned on these forums, as it will give you a list of names the particular product is known as in different countries.

[ewok]

I have been using 91% Isopropyl alcohol for applying French Polish with shellac for some years. (I am an amateur luthier.) It's much cheaper than Everclear (pure 'corn alcohol' sold in US) and safer than denatured alcohol. (yes, denatured alcohol contains chemicals that may cause health problems).

[penman]

OK here we go with a little chemistry 101.

Methylated spirit, AKA methylated alcohol, denatured alcohol is usually 95% ethanol (ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol C2H5OH) with 5% methanol (methyl alcohol CH3OH). Pure methanol is usually not available due to it's extreme toxicity (can be readily absorbed through the skin or inhaled causing all sorts of neurological problems including blindness)
Isopropyl alcohol, AKA rubbing alcohol, IPA, 2-propanol is 70% isopropanol (C3H7OH) with 30% water, there are some higher % IPA's that might work
White spirit AKA mineral turpentine, white naptha, paint thinner, is a combination of distilled paraffin oils and other aliphatic (long chain) hydrocarbons, not alcohols

Most of the answers to the original question are correct, white spirit is good for removing coatings on finishes but not shellac. You have to use the denatured alcohol, although it is not all methanol, but ethanol with a small amount of methanol. 70% IPA will not do anything.

There WILL be a quiz. You may open your booklets........now.

[gramophone78]

OK here we go with a little chemistry 101.

Methylated spirit, AKA methylated alcohol, denatured alcohol is usually 95% ethanol (ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol C2H5OH) with 5% methanol (methyl alcohol CH3OH). Pure methanol is usually not available due to it's extreme toxicity (can be readily absorbed through the skin or inhaled causing all sorts of neurological problems including blindness)
Isopropyl alcohol, AKA rubbing alcohol, IPA, 2-propanol is 70% isopropanol (C3H7OH) with 30% water, there are some higher % IPA's that might work
White spirit AKA mineral turpentine, white naptha, paint thinner, is a combination of distilled paraffin oils and other aliphatic (long chain) hydrocarbons, not alcohols

Most of the answers to the original question are correct, white spirit is good for removing coatings on finishes but not shellac. You have to use the denatured alcohol, although it is not all methanol, but ethanol with a small amount of methanol. 70% IPA will not do anything.


There WILL be a quiz. You may open your booklets........now.

Breaking Bad....???????..

[52089]

There WILL be a quiz. You may open your booklets........now.

Sing along with me, won't you?

There's antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium,
and nitrogen and oxygen and hydrogen and rhenium
And nickel, neodymium, neptunium, germanium
And iron, americium, ruthenium, uranium...

(Tom Lehrer's "The Elements", set to the Major General's song from "Pirates of Penzance", of course...)

[gramophoneshane]

Alex,
Just use methylated spirits. It's quite safe to use in this application. It can cause blindness or death IF you drink too much at one time, or if you consume it regularly over a long period of time, but at 14 yrs old I doubt you're a raging alcoholic who would stoop to such levels It tastes absolutely disgusting anyway