damascus, I note that you did warn us in your original post that some Copal's may not dissolve well. You said,
"One Ounce of Gum Copal Manila Purchase artist quality only other random offerings can and will cause you great problems because some Copals will NOT dissolve in Alcohol.
Two Fluid ounces of Alcohol (Ethanol) bio Ethanol is fine though do not use alternatives such as Isopropyl Alcohol it wont work!!!"
Then when you gave the instructions for preparing the Copal, you instructed us to keep the jar of Copal/Ethanol in a warm--- not hot-- place and to agitate it every couple days. So I am assuming the dissolving process takes a while, perhaps weeks. It appears Edh might be expecting this to happen much quicker, and that he skipped the step of decanting and allowing the alcohol to evaporate before mixing the other ingredients. How else could he still have a rubbery glob? Any lumps and sediment should have been left behind after the decanting and evaporating step. So how long do you typically give the Copal to dissolve in the alcohol before decanting?
You also mentioned breaking up the Copal into small pieces. This would of course increase the surface area and hasten the dissolving process. Again, Edh mentions a single glob. I would try carefully following your directions before running out to buy a different batch of Copal. Another point is that denatured alcohol is not the same as ethanol. Denatured alcohol is methyl-ethyl alcohol. It is mostly ethanol with enough methanol added to make it poisonous if you drank it. I would assume it will dissolve Copal. I don't know what, if anything, is added to bio-ethanol fuel to make it undrinkable until it is mixed with gasoline as in E-85 which is up to 85% ethanol. Liquor stores used to sell Everclear which was 190 proof grain alcohol (ethanol). Some states now limit it to 151 proof. Pure anhydrous (200 proof) ethanol is available from chemical supply companies.
Thanks for sharing this by the way. I recall the original Thread and the only thing missing here is "Before" pictures. Your process certainly improved the appearance of your Baikal. I am curious whether talc has any abrasive qualities at all which might reduce the life of checkering tools as is the case with some wood fillers. I have read that talc can be used as a finer alternative to rottenstone to rub out finishes.
