DEWAXED ULTRA PALE SHELLAC

The lightest color available by the solvent extraction process of removing the wax and color. This gentler process (as opposed to chemical bleaching) doesn't affect the durablity. Recommended whenever you want the least amount of ambering effect. Product processed in Germany to extremely high standards - a premium grade.

DEWAXED EXTRA PALE SHELLAC

Very similar to Ultra Pale, but with just a hint of ambering. Also processed in Germany. The most popular grade of premium shellac sold, it also goes by the name "super blonde".

DEWAXED PALE SHELLAC

Also known as "blonde", this dewaxed shellac starts to exhibit that classic amber effect. Used to impart a slight straw color as a sealer coat to light woods like pine, maple and birch. Used extensively by musical instrument makers for spruce soundboard tops to give that vintage look. Another premium grade processed in Germany.

DEWAXED ORANGE SHELLAC

Dewaxed orange doesn't have the bright, somewhat "artificial" orange undertones that #1 orange has, it leans more towards a neutral brown. It's easier to build coats with hand application without the dark streaking you get with the dewaxed dark or dark garnet grades. Good for matching old patina of unstained pines, maples, birches and other light wood.

DEWAXED BONA SHELLAC - NEW!

Dewaxed Bona is our newest grade of dewaxed shellac from India. It is between dewaxed orange and dark, but leans more towards a reddish hue. It's great on cherry as a washcoat with neutral finishes like waterbornes. Also great when built up to produce some of the classic old time colors on pine and oak. Note the bottom half of the sample (with 2 coats) as compared to the dewaxed orange. It is less orange.

DEWAXED DARK SHELLAC

This dark amber product from Germany has the darkest golden tone of all the shellac grades we sell. Absolutely wonderful for dark woods or to give light woods a golden patina. If you have to build beyond several coats with dark varieties of shellac, we recommend spraying, as you may experience brush stroke marks. Many finishers use this color for the first two coats and then switch to a lighter color for the build coats.

DEWAXED DARK GARNET SHELLAC

The darkest shellac we sell, it has a cool, bronze undertone. Many finishers apply one or two sealer coats of this grade for "instant" aged cherry. The cool undertone kills unwanted pinkish colors as found in red oak and some mahogany species. On white oak it produces a light fumed oak color (ammonia fuming).

WAXY #1 ORANGE SHELLAC

Waxy #1 Orange Shellac is the standard grade for premixed amber shellac that's been sold in paint and hardware stores for decades. The thin flakes dissolve very quickly and waxy shellacs sand easier than dewaxed shellac solutions. These flakes have the strongest orange color of all the shellac flakes.

WAXY KUSMI BUTTONLAC AND SEEDLAC

Seedlac is the raw material for all the other shellac grades. Kusmi is the winter crop and because it's lighter, most of the lighter grades of dewaxed shellac are made with it. Buttonlac is made by the very old method of squeezing seedlac filled muslin tubes in front of a hot fire. The process removes a lot of the larger debris and it drips onto stone slabs, resulting in a "button" shape. Buttonlac does not decant as easily as seedlac if you want to remove the wax.

WAXY BYSAKHI BUTTONLAC AND SEEDLAC

This grade is subject to seasonal availability so ask us for what's currently in stock. The Bysakhi crop is darker than the Kusmi crop (above right). The decanted seedlac looks very nice on mahogany.