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Hi folks, So as most of you know, you can no longer buy Denatured Alcohol in California. We also cannot get full strength Everclear. What is a good substitute for mixing shellac? I've heard that even the higher percentage Isopropyl isn't that great. Some have suggested camp stove fuel, but I don't have experience with that. Any ideas that won't break the bank (besides moving out of California)?

I always use 90% or whatever it is, rubbing alcohol. The smell of denatured gives me a headache, so I won't use it. Works fine. I haven't had any problems with it. I think I even used the 70% once, it just took longer to dissolve.

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Why be normal?

You don’t have to move out of California; just take the occasional road trip to a state that sells 190 proof Everclear. I live in West Virginia. My closest Everclear state is Kentucky. I get over there several times a year for family visits and stock up while there. Maybe some online research can reveal a state close by that you can visit.

Isopropyl is the next best thing. See if you can get a license to buy lab-grade ethyl alcohol. If not, build a still out in the woods like the good old days Actually a simple desktop distillation science kit ought to do the trick for such small quantity.

Any rubbing alcohol I've ever used is denatured (made to be unfit for human consumption). Maybe different state side?

I've ordered and received 200 proof ethyl alcohol here in California from https://www.laballey.com/. Kinda pricey though, $30 a pint + hazard shipping. I don't know how close you are to Oregon but a neighbor of mine got some from a place in Medford.

Nevada seems like a pretty lawless place. Have a friend bring some back the next tIme the go to Vegas.

I do the same, only with friends who go to Wisconsin.

200 proof which would be anhydrous, would turn into 190 proof as soon as you opened it and less the more times you opened it. I bet it burns worse than the worst shine too!

There's also a Polish spirit I got at a local liquor store that's 150 proof (75%), Spirytus Wesoly. You could also do a saline wash with the 120 proof EverClear to pull the water out of it.

Isopropyl alcohol, 99% pure, ebay.com. $14/32 floz (quart)
I've been using it for years and there's nothing wrong with it at all for shellac.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/UltraCruz-Isopropyl-Alcohol-99-32-oz/324251513344?_trkparms=aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20201210111314%26meid%3D9a1d95f4fc944d869a1eab8e46ad42b7%26pid%3D101195%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dpf%26sd%3D402299820360%26itm%3D324251513344%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSimplAMLv5PairwiseWebWithDarwoV3BBEV2b&_trksid=p2047675.c101195.m1851
Grind shellac to a powder in a coffee grinder, warm the alcohol, mix, instant shellac.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

It is isopropyl. I buy it at the grocery store health section. It doesn't have the horrific smell. Forklifts in a closed shop, or picking someone up at the airport can give me that headache in the back of my neck too.

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Why be normal?

You can buy it here and have it delivered to your door: https://www.shellac.net/solvents_thinners_reducers.html

Until recently I was able to get 70% ethyl rubbing alcohol at the local drug store. There's very little water in it, probably only the nominal 5% that it picks up from the air, like it or not. Most of the rest is acetone, which, while not harmless, is not terrible: it's a normal product of fa metabolism and you have enzymes to deal with it, unlike, say MEK in lacquer thinner. The stuff works fine for FP. These days all the ethyl seems to be going into hand sanitizer, but with luck it will be back on the market in a few months.

There are plenty of You Tube videos on making simple stills for distilling alcohol for "fuel".
To skip a lot of the intermediary steps (and work) you can buy cheap 80 proof spirits and redistill it to get closer to "pure" ethanol.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mRsETleAtk

The strong Isopropyl certainly works. Another option is bio- ethanol, if you can get it in California. Here in the UK it's just a very strong ethanol alcohol, no methyl alcohol added. Nor does it have the purple dye but it may have a strong bitter tasting substance (pyridine?) added to dissuade folk from using it as drinking alcohol. It's often sold for use in decorative domestic heaters/fires.