What is Shellac ?

Shellac is an insect resin secreted by the Lac bug, a very small red parasitic bug that attaches itself to a small variety of trees in India and Southeast Asia. The insect feeds on the sap of the tree and secretes the Lac as a protective shell in which the female lay their eggs.

Once the Lac is removed from the branches, it is crushed and washed with water to remove a once valuable red or bright orange dyestuff from it. It is then heated and forced through a sieve to extract the filtered resin. It is now gathered and rolled while it is still soft and pliable and stretched into long, thin sheets. The stretched-out sheets are allowed to cool and are broken into flakes. This flake form allows fresh quality shellac to be prepared and avoid waste. The flakes are mixed with denatured alcohol to produce a liquid solution that can be applied with a paintbrush.