How to Make Organic Wood Lacquer

Organic wood lacquer can be produced using shellac, a natural organic resin. Shellac comes from an insect, Laccifer lacca. These insects thrive in tropical countries, particularly India and Thailand. Laccifer lacca secretes an amber-colored resinous substance called lac. The insects gather in the thousands, covering the branches of host trees with their resinous substance that consists of modified tree sap. The lac is harvested and goes through a refining process of cleaning and drying to produce shellac.

#1 Orange dry flake shellac is the main raw material used to produce organic wood lacquer when dissolved in an organic solvent. #1 Orange dry flake shellac can be purchased at paint stores.

Organic wood lacquers are environmentally friendly. Organic wood lacquers do not emit an unpleasant odor and have not been found to cause health problems.

Things You'll Need

• Latex gloves
• 3 lb. #1 Orange dry flake shellac
• 2-gallon wide-mouth glass jar
• 1 gallon denatured ethanol
• Stirring rod
• 1-gallon glass jar with cover

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Instructions

1. • 1

     Put on your latex gloves to avoid staining your hands.

   • 2

     Pour 3 lb. of #1 Orange dry flake shellac into the 2-gallon wide-mouth glass jar.

   • 3

     Pour 1 gallon of denatured ethanol into the 2-gallon wide-mouth jar to dissolve the dry flake shellac. Stir to ensure that the dry flake shellac is thoroughly dissolved. Ethanol will break down the hard shellac resins and turn them into a sticky gum.

   • 4

     Transfer the #1 Orange organic wood lacquer into a clean 1-gallon glass jar. Close the jar tightly.