Natural Beekeeping International Forum

[masimcox]

Are there alternatives to Shellac for sealing the inside of my new hTBH?

French polish for instance?

Marks

[pavol]

Hi Marks,

isn´t french polish the same as shellac?
Kind regards
Pavol

[Barbara]

I would be wary of modern day French polish as they will no doubt have found alternative synthetic ingredients and additives than the basic traditional recipe.

Just simply rubbing it with a block of beeswax will do if you don't want to use shellac.

[pavol]

Yeah, you are right Barbara, nowadays one has to be very cautious But originally shellac was another name for the french polish afaik.

I have another question. I have treated the inside of my new Warre boxes (and plan to treat my knew TBHs the same way) with a shellac/ethanol/propolis solution. Is there anything that would speak against varnishing the outside of the boxes with the same? Well, actually, uhm, I have already done so, was it a bad idea?

[Barbara]

I can't think of any reason why that would be a problem from a bee's point of view.
I don't know enough about timber and preservation to comment on whether it would be sufficient to weatherproof the exterior or if other treatments like linseed oil and beeswax may be better.

[pavol]

Thanks Barbara,

last year I treated the outside of the hives with linseed oil and was rather disappointed. With the level of moisture here in Luxembourg the wood turned greyish/black and moulded within a couple of months despite the varnish. It took ages to dry as well.
The shellac is much nicer to apply, dries within minutes and seems sturdy enough to withstand the atrocities of the climate here. I will be wiser in a couple of months.
Pavol

[masimcox]

Thanks for all that, it's sound advice. However having bought the book Balanced beekeeping 1, I notice a couple of the hives in pictures are painted, so my question is what is the paint? is it safe? and is this a better option to ensure the outside of the hive is protected?

[Barbara]

@pavol

I'm surprised to hear that about your linseed treatment. I made a roof for one of my hives out of cheap 1cm ply (not external or marine grade) and I painted it with the linseed/beeswax mix and amazingly it is still holding up after two winters of exposure and we too have pretty wet weather and damp conditions here. I had intended to cover it with mineral felt so the treatment was just supposed to be a temporary job, but I never got around to it and I think I will probably just give it another good coat of the same as soon as the weather improves this year and leave it at that.

Most of the rest of the hive is protected from the worst of the weather by the overhang on the gabled roof and the general trapezoid shape of the Kenyan top bar hive means that it doesn't really get exposed.

[pavol]

@Barbara

Well, I was quite surprised too. I have to add that I used linseed oil only without the wax, but I doubt this could be the only reason. In addition not all of the boxes rotted equally, some of them are quite OK, some worse. It might be a combination of several factors, improper application (not warm/hot enough ergo insufficient penetration of the wood) could be one of them.
Anyway, now I bet on shellac, let´s see how it works throughout the season.

Pavol

[BarnBrian]

I have never sealed the insides of any of my Warre hives. The bees do a good job of it themselves with propolis. I think they get it from "Bee and Q"

[AugustC]

If you seal the inside of your hives it could possible reduce the amount the bees do it and let's be honest they will do it better.

[tai haku]

assuming one does shellac and as someone who'd never investigated shellac before reading "making a tbh" is this stuff suitable for our purposes:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Super-Blonde-Dewaxed-Shellac-Flakes-French-Polish-Clear-Superb-Quality-100g-/301699491839?hash=item463eb0e7ff:g:9VQAAOSw~gRVuMUz?

[pavol]

Hi,

I would say it is a bit pricey.
I have bought mine at restauro-online(dot)com
(I can´t post hyperlinks, so look under shellac)
1kg is on sale for 11,90 €
Quality seems to be ok.
Pavol

[pavol]

Hi,

I would say it is a bit pricey.
I have bought mine here:
w-w-w.restauro-online.com/epages/63807438.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/63807438/Products/204
(I can´t post hyperlinks, so remove the hyphens)
Quality seems to be ok.
Pavol