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

The question says it all.

Hoe to hear from you.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

I’ll give it a go. Thanks.