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Re: Cleaning goes a long way…

Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2022 3:56 am
by Marco Gilardetti
Jerry B. wrote: Thu Mar 10, 2022 5:44 pm Doesn't denatured alcohol act as a stripper for shellac?

Jerry B.
In my opinion it doesn't really strip it in strict terms, but rather re-amalgamates shellac.

Re: Cleaning goes a long way…

Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2022 10:54 am
by alang
Probably semantics, but I think it does both. If I wipe a shellac finish with denatured alcohol, it will dissolve and remove the shellac finish (= stripping). If I put denatured alcohol onto a flaking shellac finish, it will dissolve it but stay in place and dry there (= re-amalgamation). The latter is way more difficult than it sounds, especially if you cannot work with flat horizontal surfaces.

Wiping denatured alcohol on a shellac finish to clean it, as the OP describes, I would agree that this is more stripping than re-amalgamation.

JMO
Andreas