Alcohol is the solvent of choice for shellac. It's what you use to thin shellac or to create a liquid by adding to shellac crystals. That is also why a cocktail spill on a shellacked table top will damage the finish!
Try a small bit of alcohol on a cotton swab on the paint but I couldn't imagine alcohol damaging the paint. Also put a drop onto the cotton tape -- it should become slightly sticky. If not then something other than shellac was used and you've got larger problems. If both tests pass then soak the cotton tape with the alcohol and unwrap. Finish up by wiping the tubes with an alcohol dampened rag until all traces of the shellac are removed. Note that I have never tried this on a bicycle, but I have successfully restored many pieces of furniture with a shellac-linseed oil finish (a "French Polish") over the years. On Sun, Apr 12, 2026 at 9:32 AM Brent Eastman <[email protected]> wrote: > heya, > > i just bought a pre owned clem frame and there are some areas of the frame > wrapped with cotton tape and shellac (top tube curve and chainstay). I'd > like to start fresh on this build and i am afraid of messing with the paint > during removal. > > anyone done this successfully? is it easy? risky? > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e020e77b-3037-4bb9-b78c-70e3e0994aa4n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e020e77b-3037-4bb9-b78c-70e3e0994aa4n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CAMHQv6U0fwCfyJ4BY0j48BGeQ-3UxPma9tuM7DcZeKCtTBzUSw%40mail.gmail.com.
