U-Beaut Hard Shellac

[Shedhand]

A few years ago, (not sure when), I was lucky enough to win the give-away prize of a 500 ml bottle of U-Beaut Hard Shellac.
I'm about to open it for the first time and noticed a faded label on the back which says, "Use by 8/22".
There's no indication on the bottle when it was produced and I'm wondering if its still usable or is it for the bin?
Cheers
Sheddie

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

I'm fairly sure I've seen it posted somewhere that it has an 18mth shelf life, it won't work so well after that and is best discarded.

There've been times Neil has mentioned ways to freshen up some products but I don't recall if Hard Shellac is one of them.

[Shedhand]

ah! Ok thnx. I'll test it on a few different woods and toss it if no good.
Cheers

[aldav]

Old shellac can be broken down with metho to make a good sanding sealer.

[ubeaut]

Hello Sheddie

The date is definitely the best before date. However I have had reports of it working up to as long as 2 or more years after expiry date without any of the usual problems associated with expired shellac/French Polish. I have put this down to the hardener.

If you do intend to use it then do some test pieces and leave them for 20 days for the full crosslinking to take affect. Test it out by putting something hard and heavy on the surface (maybe a vase full of water) for a couple of days and if there is no impression of the item in the finish there shouldn't be a problem.

If you're unsure about using it you can do as aldav suggested and make it into sanding sealer. The best for this is our dewaxed bleached shellac but the hard does also work. Mix it with 10 parts metho and it should be good for years as sealer.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers - Neil