SHELLAWAX CREAM, GONE HARD

• Where in the world are you?

I am in California, USA. 

• How long have you had it?

I would say a little over a year, though not completely sure.

• Who did you get it from?

I think Craft Supplies USA. Though not sure. Can’t find email from anyone. Bought a lot of supplies during Covid. 

• Have you used it?

Yes I have, but only a few times. It worked wonderfully. 

• Was the lid kept screwed on tight?

Yes. Made sure of that. 

• Did you leave application cloth in the tub?

No. 

• Is the foil wad still in the lid?

Yes. Silver side down. 

• Is it solid / rock hard?

Yes. If I pry the top portion off the inside is slightly soft, but it is encased in a hard shell. 

• Is it solid but can penetrate it with a dowel or finger?

Not the hard portions. They are rock solid. 

Please help me with a response to this email answering to the above and I will get back to you.

My 2nd & final response: 15 Feb 23

Hello again Madhav

Thank you for the response to my previous email. Very helpful information. Got a couple more at the bottom of this one.

Well… I’m guessing it hasn’t been frozen if you’re in California. Not that I’ve ever heard of it freezing, due to the high alcohol content in it.

Can’t say that I have ever come up against this one before.

The Cream can thicken somewhat and appear to be dry, but it is just sort of semi solid. The fix for this is to get a piece of wood like a dowel, chopstick or similar and give it a good stirring.

Don’t use a metal stirrer as this may make the mix or the stirrer go black or rusty due to the shellac and alcohol part of the mixture.

Poke the stirrer it into the center of the Cream and start stirring there and expand the stirring to the outside. This will almost always take the cream back to more of a sort of coldcream state.

If for some reason it has gone to an almost crispy-crunchy state then it can be cut up and used as a solid like a wax stick and it will still work. This only happens if the lid has been left off for an extended period… months or years.

Give it a stirring and see how it goes. If you have any Shellawax (the liquid version) you can add some of it to the cream and it will work as a thinner.

If the stirring does bring it back to a creamier mic and there are bits of really hard stuff still in it you should still be able to use it and get the same result as before just pick out any small hard bits that might get on the application cloth or they may mark the workpiece.

This info should help you but please let me know how you get on with it.

Couple more quick questions if you don’t mind:
The more information I can get the more it may help with future problems.

• Can you please send a photo of before and after stirring and the bottom/underside of the jar, which should have a raised or impressed mark on it.
• Did the jar have a silver induction seal attached to the rim which had to be removed before you could get to the product.
• Do you recall if that seal had been broken when you got it from the seller.

I look forward to hearing back from you to see the stirring resolves the problem for you.

Kind regards – Neil

PS This link Friction Polish Problem Solver may be of some help for you with any future problems.