How to [easily] remove old and dried drops of shellac from formica?

In My Humble Opinion
1

The question says it all.

Hoe to hear from you.

(Genuine typo, up there, but I left it in. :D]

2

Take a sharp chisel, and slide it underneath each drip. The solvent for shellac is alcohol, so use that to clean up any residue.

3

I’d use a razor blade instead of a chisel. But then none of my chisels are very sharp.

Should be fairly easy to shave off.

4

Formica will scratch. I’d try mineral spirits, myself.

5

I tried rubbing a rag with (isopropyl) alcohol on it to no avail.

I’ll try the razor, next - and maybe an alcohol rub, too.

I don’t have any chisels.

Thanks, folks.

6

I was going to suggest the razor blade, try not to go clear to the formica surface. Household solvents that will disolve it? Any nail polish remover around? WD-40 should work too.

7

Goo Gone, available at Wally or hardware stores, has done well for me on a variety of things. It has petroleum distillates and the bottle says it remove: masking tape, paint, varnish, gum, grease, tar, glue…

I don’t know if it will address your issue but if it doesn’t, it’s still great to have around. It’s especially great for gunky/gooey stuff, like when you remove a sticker from something like a plastic housing on your puter and that nasty adhesive is left behind. This stuff dissolves it, easy peasy.

8

[QUOTE=BarnOwl]
I tried rubbing a rag with (isopropyl) alcohol on it to no avail.

I’ll try the razor, next - and maybe an alcohol rub, too.

I don’t have any chisels.

Thanks, folks.
[/QUOTE]
You’d probably do better with methyl (aka wood) alcohol. Another option would be to moisten a cloth with ammonia and let that sit on the spots of dried shellac to soften them.

9

[QUOTE=danceswithcats]
You’d probably do better with methyl (aka wood) alcohol. Another option would be to moisten a cloth with ammonia and let that sit on the spots of dried shellac to soften them.
[/QUOTE]

I’ll give it a go. Thanks.