Shellac and Cotton Tape

Has anyone here ever tried shellac-ing their cotton bar tape?
I just had a go (see end names and faces to bike thread or this picture)
and it isn't quite right. Disregarding my slightly ragged first attempt
at a harlequin weave, the varnish dulled the bright yellowness of the
tape much more than I expected. The only shellac based varnishes
I could find at my local diy shop were french polish, which I thought
would be too dark, and something called 'white polish', which is what
I used. I'll try a few more coats and see what happens, but does anyone
know where to get a completely clear shellac varnish?

White polish i guess is the closest you;re going to get. You can buy shellac itself from an artists' materials shop (such as tiranti's), but that stains everything a dark brown colour. I only know about shellac through mould-making though so maybe there's some other stuff you can use?

I've seen that bike before!!!
Locked up on Charing X Rd right?

Hey wait i thought it looked familiar! my college is on charing x road. haha

asm You can buy shellac itself from an artists' materials shop (such as tiranti's)

You mean shellac flakes? The guy in the shop suggest that too - you just have to dissolve it in colourless
alchohol (from the chemist I suppose). Actually a have stick of shellac lying around somewhere - it's used
to stick the leather pads onto saxophone keys. I'll have to experiment a little I guess..

Todd I've seen that bike before!!!
Locked up on Charing X Rd right?

quite possibly!
i was probably in foyle's ray's jazz cafe.

Love it in there :-)

asm Hey wait i thought it looked familiar! my college is on charing x road. haha

St. Martins?

I don't want to put you off or anything, but I almost posted something along the lines of, "That bike is sex, in spite of the bar tape," in the Names And Faces thread. Why do you want to shellac it, if you don't mind me asking? Is Cinelli cork wrap not good enough for you, eh, eh? :-) I think I'd get myself a roll of it in white and go ride.

Todd Love it in there :-)

last time I was in was during the jazz festival and this russian saxophone
quartet turned up. One of them had the biggest horn i'd ever seen (fnarr fnarr).
I think it was a contra-bass or something like that - honestly, it made the
other guy's baritone look/sound like a small squeaky thing.

Soweto888 I don't want to put you off or anything, but I almost posted something along the lines of, "That bike is sex, in spite of the bar tape," in the Names And Faces thread. Why do you want to shellac it, if you don't mind me asking? Is Cinelli cork wrap not good enough for you, eh, eh? :-) I think I'd get myself a roll of it in white and go ride.

well I wanted to have a go at the harlequin wrap, which I think is much easier with cotton.
Honestly, it turned out reasonably well before the varnish went on as the yellow was much
brighter and closer to the colour of the frame. 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?

Todd [quote]asm Hey wait i thought it looked familiar! my college is on charing x road. haha

St. Martins?[/quote]

Yep.

asm: fashion or fine art? I did my fashion degree there and loved it. Won't be there for much longer I've heard. London Institute's movin to Kings X.

oddsock: That's the great thing about Ray's. I remember when it was on Shaftesbury Ave and couldn't believe they were closing so was really pleased they found a good home.
...and cotton tape's better than cork!
Watch it gain popularity...

Fine art. I'm in the last year to spend the whole degree in charing x, in my 1st year now. Apparently the kings x site won't be finished for the following TEN YEARS after the move! I think it's such a shame... I love charing x, despite the breeziness and coldness and amount of stairs....

Wet-wipes are good for keeping cork bar tape clean. I reckon they'd get the worst oily grime out of cotton too. Maybe it's worth experimenting? I mean, varnished tape can't be that comfy, can it?

The bike looks great anyway, so don't sweat it too much. :-)

It's got a lot of character. Especially that tent style suspended roof! ha ha. Gotta love the fine art dept.
It's great you'll get to spend all your degree there. Will never be the same anywhere else. Won't have the incredible history.
I think it's probably a good thing. Soho seems to have lost it's 'creative scene' to an extent.

Hey Oddsock, if you're really keen on this business, try 'sanding sealer' from a french polishing suppliers - it is the most basic form of shellac i think i.e. least ingredients other than shellac. I think the other ingredients are meths and french chalk.

Todd It's got a lot of character. Especially that tent style suspended roof! ha ha. Gotta love the fine art dept.
It's great you'll get to spend all your degree there. Will never be the same anywhere else. Won't have the incredible history.
I think it's probably a good thing. Soho seems to have lost it's 'creative scene' to an extent.

True i guess. From what i've heard most of the kings x site's space will be taken up by the other members of the joint venture. They'll be sharing the building with the guardian's new offices for example. I can't help but wonder just how big this building is going to be! I mean if you put all the CSM branches together, then combine that with the guardian and whoever else is going to be in with them...

Richard Cheese Hey Oddsock, if you're really keen on this business, try 'sanding sealer' from a french polishing suppliers - it is the most basic form of shellac i think i.e. least ingredients other than shellac. I think the other ingredients are meths and french chalk.

the french seem to have this thing cornered.
I'll give it a try.

Actually, I remember using diluted PVA glue to seal
something made out of modelling foam once - that
was fairly transparent.

it does dry completely clear :)

don't really know how PVA will stand against everyday use on handlebars though... but one thing for sure your bike will beat VB's and hops for the most yellow bike :)

well.. shellac is wax based, i dont know how resilient that will be to moisture/sweat either.. i dont understand why it's used for this sort of stuff...

PVA does 'dry' clear but goes white again when wet. Not the best for this I'd imagine.

shellac is made from beatle wings. we use it in the lab to "glue/stick" fine bits of equipment together. you'll never get a clear shellax, you can dull the colour down by mixing with alcohol, but it will never go clear. if you want bar tape that doesn't discolour, try the fizik bar tape ;)

CSM IS MOVING?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

They only just finished the lift when i left a couple of years ago. That took ages!

I liked the random rooms at the top and the viewing room / cinema best.

Ahhhhhh, the old days.