Hello George,
No Shellac Bunnings..?? Whats going on there?
Shellac comes in many colours , white, blonde, orange,etc
But like everything else in Australia its getting hard to buy in all the colours ,because harwares only cater for people that dont do any restoring work, but all Bunnings sell orange /gold shellac.
So they must of not restocked.
You want it in flake form because despite the myth that shellac keeps ! It does not , the shelf life of a mixed batch is 6 months , after that it begins to lose its hardess and although people use old shellac, it will never be has hard as a fresh batch.
Just go to anther Bunnings and buy the flakes.
As for Grill cloth . I have lots ,but not that Era ,because I do 50s and 60s stuff, so you maybe best to look on ebay for that.
There is a few guys in oz that sell Grill cloth on their websites so search for that too.
From my experience, I have better luck buying it off the net and like everything America has it all unfortunately. The other option is to take a photo of the grill cloth and pop it on here under for sale and wanted and some of the Radio guys here may have a match.
Most of us have tons of old junk and I do too , but wrong Era.
Pete
Ps we call orange gold ,its comon to refer to it as gold and that colour is available at bunnings

Hi George

I think I have enough period-correct Airzone pattern grille cloth to cover that. I'll never use it all....
Where are you in Sydney?

Bunnings' website lists only one shellac Feast Watson amber. I used that once a few years back and found it very difficult to dissolve. In the end I had to stand the Diggers metho in a saucepan of hot water to get the action going.

I don't know if it was lousy metho (too much water?) or the shellac flakes or maybe ambient temperature.

I used a lot of shellac as a kid because it was easier and cheaper than paint. I didn't have trouble with dissolving it back then.

You'd probably find a better range of colours at a specialist store.

Crappy metho !
The flakes keep until their wet.
I buy my stuff off line now because , I can get white and blonde on line and its cheap and good.
But these days I try to keep away from shellac and just do oil finishes

Hey George, head to a paint store,
Eg, John's Paints at Hornsby.
Or you could try Blenheim Rd, North Ryde at the old Bristol paint store..
Or a good Mitre 10
Pete
Amber, orange gold, either will work for the top so whatever you can get.

Gtc,

I forgot to mention G, Bunnings and Wattyl are having a war and thats why they dont carry Wattyl products anymore. In my opinion Wattyl products are far superior.
Pete

That's the retail environment we enjoy with two companies having an 80-85% penetration in the market place. Bunnings is owned by the same company that owns Coles and the same dreadful retail practices do at times apply which means manufacturers and other suppliers leave the negotiation table with skinned knuckles. While the ACCC permits Bunnings to dominate and destroy any competition it'll no doubt continue. They didn't get big organically but by enjoying a unique position of purchasing the only other big-box hardware chain in the country, BBC Hardware.

Hi Pete,
I had a family day out today so only just got back, yes they were out of stock. Thanks for the tips on the Grill Cloth.
Interesting recording Shellac, a guy I was talking to at Bunnings told me a story not sure if it is true, but that Shellac was made from Beetle Wings, is this true?
I will check out the paint store in Hornsby, when I get back from Melbourne, down there for a week on Tues.

Hi Ian,
That is very nice of you to offer, happy to pay for it.
I am in Castle Hill, but happy to head out your way to pick some up. I think the Airzone looks the same from what I have seen. I will post a picture and with some dimensions first chance I get and let me know if that is the one or similar you have.
Cheers
George.

Hi George,
Shellac is made from the secretion of Lac beetles yes, This was its down fall because it became costly to produce and took time to gather enough for worlds needs. So Nitro was invented and it boomed.
Shellac is not best finish or the worse as it depends on the item its being used on, but it is home friendly.
Pete

Yes George, let me know the dimensions and pattern - you can email me - and I'll make sure I have a big enough piece of a suitable pattern before you make the trip.

I think I saw a dividing piece down the centre of the grille that might be able to hide a join if that proves necessary.

Photos uploaded to Post 68.

Hi Pete,
After working the radio which is now working, I checked and Bunnings has some shellac flakes, so I began your process this arvo, using the Acetone with a few drops of mineral oil, I worked the top with the grain and in circular motion, but did not seem to do much, a little stain came on the white cloth, but as far as smoothing out the surface not sure it did much. The layer that was crackled seem to have stayed that way. Was it suppose to disolve and blend in as this did not occur. I thought I was generous with the acetone without it drip down though and I rubbed with some reasonable pressure. I was sure what exactly to expect, but it do not seem to achieve very much.
Appreciate you thoughts
Thanks George

Hello George,
Acetone with desolve Nitrocellulose and so will lacquer thinners .
If it did not desolve than ts not Nitrocellulose .
Which leads to two things .
1; the top was re done at some stage in Varnish?
2; the cabinet is not finished in nitrocellulose?

Its pointing to varnish , because you said the cracks are still there and thats because Varnish does not re activate in that Manor.
The only option I can see because i, not there and not seeing the finish is to strip the top and re do it and leave the rest of the cabinet.
To do this,
Put car pollish on the last 3 inches of the top of the cabinet a but not the top!
This will work as barrier to attached , blue bunnings masking tape too and mask off the cabinet.
Lay the cabinet on its back to strip it .
If you can do it without masking it up do so.theres always a risk factor
If masking ， always put car pollish down first and dont rub it off. Stick the masking tape to it.

Get some stripper, KGB brand and do half the top at a time and only leaving stripper on from 2 or 3 minutes.
Then use steel wool and metho wet 0000 to remove the melted mess off the top,
When it is all off , wipe it down with metho to neutralise it.
Sounds like its varnish George in which case the top will need to be stripped and grain filled and re stained and re clear coated again.
Not what you want to hear, but if it did not desolve than its varnish because its Turpentine base , not Lacquer thinners.
Pete
Have a read of my posts first george !! There in the form under cabinet repairs
Pete

I had a feeling the top had been done differently. I will go to the other post, but what your saying is I will need to strip it back, stain and then clear vanish not shellac?
George

This site keeps shutting down George and I loose my post!
Yes , do it in shellac and it can be done at home and I think you will enjoy it, but read my posts first then phone me so we can chat and make sure its as clear as Mud.
Pete 99828024