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Shellac is a brittle or flaky secretion of the lac insect Kerria lacca, found in the forests of Assam and Thailand. Freed from wood it is called "seedlac". more...

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Once it was commonly believed that shellac was a resin obtained from the wings of an insect (order Hemiptera) found in India. In actuality, shellac is obtained from the secretion of the female insect, harvested from the bark of the trees where she deposits it to provide a sticky hold on the trunk. There is a risk that the harvesting process can scoop the insect up along with the secretion, leading to its death. The natural coloration of lac residue is greatly influenced by the sap consumed by the lac insect and the season of the harvest. Generally in the trade of seedlac there are two distinct colors; the orange Bysacki and the blonde Kushmi.

When purified, the chemical takes the form of golden yellow/ golden brown flakes, this possibly providing the basis for the "Wing Source Story." Shellac is a natural polymer and is chemically similar to synthetic polymers, thus it is considered a natural plastic. It can be turned into a moulding compound when mixed with woodflour and moulded under heat and pressure methods, so it is classified as thermoplastic. But old mouldings tend to become thermoset, that is, they suffer chemical reactions over time and are no longer fusible.

It is soluble in alkaline solutions such as ammonia, sodium borate, sodium carbonate, and sodium hydroxide, and also in various organic solvents. When dissolved in alcohol, typically blends containing ethanol and methanol, shellac yields a coating of superior durability and hardness and is available in numerous grades. It is used in the traditional "French polish" method of finishing furniture, and fine viols and guitars. Shellac is also used as a finish for certain former Soviet Bloc small arms' wood stocks, such as the stock of the AK-47. Shellac refined for industrial purposes either retains its natural wax content or is refined wax-free by filtration. Orange shellac is bleached with sodium hypochlorite solution to form white shellac and also is produced in wax-containing and wax-free form. Because it is compatible with most other finishes, shellac is also used as a barrier or primer coat on wood to prevent the bleeding of resin or pigments into the final finish, or to prevent wood stain from blotching. Lightly tinted shellac preparations are also sold as paint primer. Shellac is best suited to this application because, although its durability against abrasives and many common solvents is not very good, it provides an excellent barrier against water vapor penetration.

It was used from mid-19th century to produce small moulded goods like picture frames, boxes, toilet articles, jewellery, inkwells and even dental plates. Until the advent of Vinyl in 1938, phonograph records were pressed from shellac compounds. This use was common until the 1950s, and continued into the 1970s in some non-Western countries. Sheets of Braille also used to be coated with shellac to help protect them from wear due to being read by hand.

Read more at Wikipedia.org