Cecilia, You are right on the shellac flakes. Take a 1/4 cup of denatured alcohol and put in a small bottle with a lid. Now drop in a tablespoon(an overloaded tablespoon) of shellac into the alcohol. Shake and let sit for about an hour then shake again. It should be thickness of sewing machine oil if not add a little more shellac and shake. I apply all coats with the french polish method. Do not brush on shellac or you will end up with brush strokes in the finish. After the last finish coat let the shellac cure for about two weeks then you can wax the machine with a coat of car wax(the stuff without the cleaner just wax) BTW did you find out what the oil was from Lee Valley?
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