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USAGES OF SHELLAC
Pharmaceuticals -
Shellac is used to coat enteric pills so that they do
not dissolve in the stomach, but in the lower intestine,
which alleviates upset stomachs. Its also used as a
coating on pills to "time release" medication.
Confectionery
- Shellac is used to provide protective candy coatings
or glazes on candies like Reese's Pieces, because of its
unique ability to provide a high gloss in relatively
thin coatings (like a French Polish). It was used at one
time on M&M's. It is approved by the FDA as a food
safe coating when dissolved in pure ethanol (not
denatured).
Hats - Shellac is
used to stiffen felt used to make hats. It allows the
makers to shape the felt into brims, bowl shapes, etc.
Food Coatings -
Because of its FDA approval, shellac is used to coat
apples and other fruits to make them shinier.
Electrical - Shellac
mixed with marble dust is used by lamp manufacturers to
glue the metal base to glass incandescent bulbs.
Other uses for shellac are in the manufacture of
grinding wheels (it allows the abrasive particles to
break off at the low heat generated by the grinding
process, thus exposing new, fresh abrasive particles),
leather finishing and painting (shellac pigmented with
white titanium dioxide is widely used by painters as a
stain sealer, wall board primer, and knot and sap sealer
on wood).
Other former uses for shellac are electrical insulators,
as a glue (it bonds glass and metal surprisingly well),
phonograph records (the old 78's were a mixture of
shellac, fillers and lampblack), hair spray, no-rub
floor polishes, and as a finish for bowling alleys (the
weight of the ball dropping on the shellac surface did
crack the finish).
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