Official Luthiers Forum!

has anyone used this product for french polishing?? way cheaper than the alcohol from hd and everclear is made from grain and is 95% clear?? and abt 15 $ for a bottle at the liquor store .

I use it but mine states 99% pure. It flashes off slower than ethanol but the difference is very minor. In fact I filled two very small bottle caps with each type of alcohol to see which evaporated the fastest. A day later the ethanol won but by a very small margin.

I use the 91% for cleaning shellac off my hands. I'm using 95% ethanol denatured with7% acetone. The one time I tried 99% isopropyl for French polishing, the finish took much longer to become serviceably hard. If you're patient, and give it enough dry time between sessions, it should work--it does for Michael.

Well I just paid 17.50 at the liquor store for some everclear . But I do have the regular 70% isopropyl that I can use as a cleaner. I was watching a youtube video that says the store bought HD /lowes alcohol has too many nasty additives,. I am using disposable gloves. I see all the pros using everclear, . I/m not patient , so will pass on the 91 %. When you say ethanol 95% are you talking abt, the stuff from the gas station ?? or is it a different type of grain alcohol from the liquor store variety. If so, where does one get 95 % ethanol ??Just wondering Thanks for the explanation.

isopropyl alcohol is not good for french polish you will see that it has more water in it . If you want to do french polish everclear is the best.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Thanks john for the info that/s what I figured. I/m just finishing off a sample WRC board using lowe/s alcohol/dewaxed garnet ,man is this is ever time consuming(FP) for an impatient guy like me. Got another sample of walnut pore filled board . I/m trying to perfect my varnishing technique using thinned down behlens rock hard varnish for Cl gtrs.

No, not the gas station. If they sell the 190 proof Everclear where you live, and you can afford it, stick with that. They don't sell it in California, so I use SDA 23A. SDA stands for "Special Denatured Alcohol". and it just means that the recipe is enforced by the feds. SDA 23A is designed for use as a shellac solvent. It contains ethanol (Everclear), about 7% acetone, and less than 5% water. You can also buy 200 proof SDA 23A, but that flashes off a little too fast for my liking. Unless you jump through some licensing hoops, you can only buy 5 gallons per year of SDA alcohol. Five gallons will get you through a lot of guitars. I pay a little under 20$ per gallon--so it's a good bit cheaper than Everclear. The Chemisphere Corp. in St. Louis carries it. There must be someplace in K.C. that does. Pick it up yourself, or the shipping will cost more than the alcohol.

Eric thank you very much for the deatailed explanation. My production rate is low right now .Soon to pick up.I appreciate the your explanation.It was the terminology that through me off. In kansas /iowa they have ethanol plants , hence the gas station reference lol. Back to sanding now. I feel I am slowly getting the hang of FP . I ordered three grades of shellac ,the dewaxed versions can be used under varnish , and the buttonlac with wax can be used a final coat for FP. I highly recommend the shellac shack, there prices are reasonable , and they ship priority post which me being impatient helps. Speak with malcolm, he is vy knowledgeable ,and helpful for newbies to shellac .Located in s. coast of oregon

Sounds almost good enough to drink Filipo.

Steve

Isopropyl alcohol only contains 70% ethanol. It is also called rubbing alcohol, but not for rubbing shellac.

Bob

I know that some isoproyl alcohols that you buy at drug stores or wherever can have additives too. They add some stuff to make it bitter to deter drinking it.

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Another day, another dollar.

Isopropyl alcohol shouldn't contain any Ethanol. They are two different types of alcohol with slightly different chemical chains. For French Polishing you just need Isopropyl with a very high alcohol content. That's no different than the high content of something like Everclear. If you water it down it becomes less suitable for our use, it doesn't matter if that is Everclear or Isopropyl.
Rubbing alcohol is usually Isopropyl alcohol that has been diluted. So commonly available Isopropyl or 'rubbing alcohol' is unsuitable for French polishing. High per centage Isopropyl can be used for French Polishing though.