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Not quite a duplicate of What are the best substitutes when nothing labelled as "Denatured alcohol" can be found in your area?

For my sins, I live in California. California has completely banned Denatured Alcohol, and you can't have it shipped here (so no Amazon or Rockler etc). Nor can you buy Everclear at more than 60%. Isopropyl Alcohol hasn't been seen in the stores since March 2020.

I need to either dissolve shellac flakes, or thin Zinsser premade shellac. Every website I visit just naturally assumes meths/denatured alcohol is available.

What can I use as a solvent in this state? And where can I get it?

kdopen
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    Prop 65: The People's Republik of California has determined that being alive will eventually cause your death. – FreeMan Oct 03 '20 at 13:13
  • I expect it is illegal to distil vodka or other liquor ? – blacksmith37 Oct 03 '20 at 14:44
  • :) But seriously - is there anything other than alcohol that works? Acetone is freely available, for example. – kdopen Oct 03 '20 at 16:44
  • Actually looks like I can get isoprop on Amazon for $8/qt. But according to https://www.finewoodworking.com/forum/isopropyl-or-denatured-alcohol that's probably a waste of money – kdopen Oct 03 '20 at 17:32
  • "Nor can you buy Everclear at more than 60%." Damnit, trust California to prevent the sale of just what I was going to suggest. Can you have the higher-alcohol version of Everclear shipped? If not, you don't live near any of the borders to other states by any chance? It hardly seems worth the expense and hassle though unless you're right by a border, in which case I'm sure you'd have already considered it as an option. – Graphus Oct 03 '20 at 19:03
  • "Acetone is freely available, for example." Acetone, despite being a stronger solvent than the alcohols, doesn't dissolve shellac. So the way I see it is you have two choices, set yourself up as a company in some way so you can order chemical-grade ethanol, which you can use for both things you want to do. One alternative for making shellac from scratch, dissolve it in water — shellac will dissolve in water if the pH is high enough.... I'm presuming California will at least still allow you to buy the things necessary to make a strong alkaline solution!! – Graphus Oct 03 '20 at 19:07
  • Not near a. border I"m afraid. Do you agree Isopropyl Alcohol is no good (amzon has 99%)? Also ... looks like I can get camping fire fuel from REI which sounds like DNA – kdopen Oct 04 '20 at 01:23
  • "looks like I can get camping fire fuel from REI which sounds like DNA" Aha! Love end runs around the regs like this :-) As for isopropyl alcohol, you hear conflicting stuff as you've already discovered, so while I think it's worth trying really only if there are no other alternatives available. It needs to be as close to 99% as you can get, because the lower percentage versions have water in them. – Graphus Oct 04 '20 at 05:35
  • Better yet ... I kept digging around on Amazon and found a seller who hadn't set the "can't ship to California" flag on their item :) quickly grabbed two quarts – kdopen Oct 04 '20 at 17:57
  • Hehe, awesome. So that's you set for a while. It's perfectly kosher on StackExchange to self-Answer, in case you don't know. So it would be worth you posting an Answer, mentioning the camping fire fuel as a useful alternative to standard DA. By the way, I've seen similar stuff to that fuel on sale here and at the time it was significantly cheaper than our version of DA (what we call methylated spirits). How did the prices compare there? – Graphus Oct 05 '20 at 07:16
  • @kdopen I don't know how I missed this but Shellac and I are great friends. I'm in CA too and this will really set me back. All the Zinssers are too heavy out of the can. Could you pls post the Amazon seller's link or what you learned on camping fuel? Thanks. Who thinks this stuff up? I know it just shows my ignorance but what is wrong with DA now? – Jim Oct 19 '20 at 08:54
  • https://www.amazon.com/Klean-Strip-QKGA75003-Denatured-Alcohol-1-Quart/dp/B001FOSX9U – kdopen Oct 26 '20 at 13:40
  • For those interested, I think this is the controlling regulation: regulation. – Michael Kohne May 04 '22 at 10:13
  • Also, for those who want to have a go at distillation, this book might help. If nothing else it's a fun read. – Michael Kohne May 04 '22 at 10:13

2 Answers2

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Bioethanol is an option. It's effectively high-proof Everclear with a bitterant to prevent it from being ingested.

You might have luck finding it stocked at outdoor outfitters (camping/hiking stores), or stores that supply wood stoves which sometimes use it as a fuel in ventless stoves.

A couple examples are Crown "Fuel for Alcohol Stoves", which REI appears to carry, and Moda Fireplace Fuel which appears to be sold through retailers like Home Depot, Ralphs, and Walmart (perhaps online only).

You might also try contacting local distilleries, if there are any, to see if they sell their heads & tails. Sometimes they are available for use as cleaning agents

STW
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  • The bioethanol is a great suggestion. I was reading about the bitterant now commonly used just a few days ago! – Graphus May 02 '22 at 16:39
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I saw recently several youtube methods of removing the water from alcohol. They simply added salt then decanted. Salt attracts water. If you can find some cheap high proof alcohol you can make it higher with this method. There is also a freezing method for removing water. Salting https://youtu.be/I5wuMGNsdHk https://youtu.be/1SS3-D-Aqr4 Freezing https://youtu.be/4UbnHw0qIzo

An expensive alternative is to buy legal moonshine. I don't know if you can do that in CA but in NY you can. Oddly enough it must be sold in mason jars. A farmer at work made it. I have no idea of how you would find them though. I tried searching this and apparently your not allowed to drink alcohol in CA. unless its watered down. Still you could get your own license to distill if the need is this high. A state license is legal.

Dave
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  • Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center. – Community Apr 28 '22 at 00:52