Shellac Pound Cut Chart — How to Mix Shellac Flakes

Pound cut is the weight of dry shellac dissolved in one gallon of denatured alcohol. A two-pound cut means two pounds of flake in a gallon. The chart below scales that math down to the half gallon, quart, pint, and cup, at five working cuts. Mix only what you will use in about three months; store it sealed, cool, and dark.

Pound Cut Chart — dry weight of flake per volume of denatured alcohol
Volume of alcohol 1 lb cut 1½ lb cut 2 lb cut 2½ lb cut 3 lb cut
One Gallon · 128 fl oz 16 oz 24 oz 32 oz 40 oz 48 oz
Half Gallon · 64 fl oz 8 oz 12 oz 16 oz 20 oz 24 oz
Quart · 32 fl oz 4 oz 6 oz 8 oz 10 oz 12 oz
Pint · 16 fl oz 2 oz 3 oz 4 oz 5 oz 6 oz
Cup · 8 fl oz 1 oz 1.5 oz 2 oz 2.5 oz 3 oz
All weights in dry ounces of shellac flake. Eight ounces of flake in one quart of alcohol is a two-pound cut.

How to read the chart

Rows are the finished batch volume. Columns are the cut. Read the intersecting cell to find the dry weight of flake. The one-quart row at the two-pound-cut column gives you eight ounces — half a pound of flake to a quart of alcohol, a two-pound cut.

Dissolving and mixing shellac flakes

Container. Glass or plastic, slightly larger than your finished batch — the flake displaces volume as it dissolves. No metal. Sealed if you walk away.

Alcohol. 190-proof denatured alcohol. Proof matters more than brand — lower proofs carry water that does not dissolve flake well. Higher proof is fine.

Heat. A warm-water bath helps in cold weather. Direct heat does not — alcohol vapor and burners are not a combination to manage on the bench.

Mixing. Add flake to alcohol; stir or shake every fifteen to thirty minutes until fully dissolved. Strain the cut through a paint strainer, then cheesecloth, before use.

Storage. Mix only what will be used within about three months. Store sealed, cool, dark.

Keep dissolved shellac and the alcohol it is dissolved in away from open flame.

In a hot shop the coolest place outside the refrigerator is often the slab under the bench. Old finishers have always known this.

Where to start

Two-pound cut is a reasonable place to start. Several thin coats are generally easier to apply and to finish than a few heavy ones; the cut you settle on will come from the work, the tools, the weather, and the bench you keep.

Practitioners cut to their own preference. We make the chart available; we do not recommend a number.

To print this chart for the shop wall, press Ctrl/Cmd+P. The page will reformat to a single 8.5 × 11 sheet, single ink, no commerce chrome.

The chart tells you how much. The product tells you which.

Dewaxed super blonde shellac flake — pale honey-toned grade

Dewaxed Super Blonde Flake

Modern dewaxed flake. Cuts clean, dissolves clean — the working choice for most bench work, and the right grade under polyurethane.

From $32.55 · ½ lb

 Kusmi #1 button lac — caramel-amber, hand-refined cottage-form shellac

Kusmi #1 Button Lac

The historically authentic form. Wax-containing. For French polishing, instrument finishing, and restoration where the period-correct shellac matters.

From $32.10 · ½ lb

 Machine-made lemon shellac flake — pale yellow wax-containing grade

Machine-Made Lemon Flake

Wax-containing flake in a working lemon tone. Period-correct chemistry without the button form.

From $28.25 · ½ lb