3 quick questions

[EricRN]

Hi all, I have two quick questions I was hoping folks could help me with. I cleaned out the garage and found some old shellac flakes from 2019. They are all stuck together in one mass. Are they still good? I think I could just smash them up with a hammer.

Second question: I found some epoxy resin for casting. I used some of it a few months ago. It's since turned yellow. It was clear. Is that still good?

Last question: I had some Odies Oil dark develop a bunch of small white granules. Almost like yeast. Is this normal? It didn't happen in the Odies regular I had (which is much older).

 

[darrin1200]

I don't know anything about the Odies oil.
Usually colouration will not affect, but resin does generally have a shelf life. Try a small mix and see if it still cures.
The shellac should be fine. It's purpose for being in flake form, is shelf life. Just break the clumps up before you mix in the alcohol. The smaller the pieces, the quicker they liquify.
If it's a really hard ball/clump, it may take a long time to liquify.

 

[EricRN]

I don't know anything about the Odies oil.
Usually colouration will not affect, but resin does generally have a shelf life. Try a small mix and see if it still cures.
The shellac should be fine. It's purpose for being in flake form, is shelf life. Just break the clumps up before you mix in the alcohol. The smaller the pieces, the quicker they liquify.
If it's a really hard ball/clump, it may take a long time to liquify.

Thanks. That was my thinking on the shellac. I also reached out to Odie's directly, but was curious if anyone had that happen.

 

[Kenny Durrant]

The epoxy resin turns yellow over time. That's one of the drawbacks of it. I think it's ok. I've used it when it was over a year old and it worked well, except for yellowing. I'd get a small cup and mix up a batch and let it sit and see what happens. Then you'd know for sure.

 

[EricRN]

Update: Odies says the white grains are just the wax solidifying and coming out of solution. Not a problem. Friction when applying will melt the wax and it will be good to go. Or so I'm told.