Shellac and Cotton Tape

Resurrecting this thread to find out if anyone has found shellac flakes in London? I'm aiming for some serious rivendell action on my crosscheck...

oddsock Then I thought, well the tape is going to
get really dirty really quickly so I better coat it with something. Maybe something else
next time, eh?

Why not try silicone sealant? Waterproof, comfortable once cured, shouldn't discolour the tape, easy to apply - just smear it on. Worth a try. Nice bike BTW

Can't you get shellac from old records (pre-vinyl?)

we've got heaps at work. how much you want?

there's loads of different types of shellac. yes it is made from bits of beetles, so its hard to get a really clear finish on it. scenery wise you can get varients such as white knotting and pale sanding sealer. flints theatrical chandlers do larger 5l cans of it. maybe atlantis will do a smaller tub.

either that or you could try french enamel varnish (fev). its meths based like the shellac and you can get a clear one. a 1l can is about a tenner from flints.

dogsballs we've got heaps at work. how much you want?

No idea! Prob a cups worth or something? I doubt I'd need more than 200ml of mixed shellac to do a few coats on my bars and know it needs to be mixed with alcohol.

Just googled: 220g of shellac flakes makes a litre of shellac. So I probably need 50g or so at most.

about to say it does make a bit. cool 50g.

Wicked dude - thanks a lot! Yet another fun bike project to distract me from tidying my flat...

Momentum Wicked dude - thanks a lot! Yet another fun bike project to distract me from tidying my flat...
50.0g on my desk.

Momentum [quote]dogsballs we've got heaps at work. how much you want?

No idea! Prob a cups worth or something? I doubt I'd need more than 200ml of mixed shellac to do a few coats on my bars and know it needs to be mixed with alcohol.
[/quote]
This might be a stupid question but what kind of alcohol? I've got some 70% isopropyl here - would that do?

Anyway, be sure to post before and after pictures when it's done!

you could use ethanol as it will just evapourate.

From what I was reading you can just use meths, although purer is better for french polishing (thanks google).

Will post some pics when I'm done, although it could be a little while as I need to make sure I'm happy with brake lever positions before I commit!

I did a few pairs of mine with meths (the purple kind). There really wasnt any purple visible in the end. I got the shellac from atlantis, but its probably in most art stores. I remember it needing lots of coats to look good.

I had my bars harlequin wrapped blue and yellow (surprise) for ages. The yellow got dirty really quickly though, but I was more interested in keeping the colour than shellacing it for protection.

This was my first attempt (Shellac with white tape)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eggpie/408899992/