clouds in shellac

I am preparing to do a shellac finish on a table top.

The instructions I have direct me to filter the shellac prior to use. I seem to remember, from I do not know where, that this is to remove wax. (?) Nothing really seems to filter. Using a cotton cloth as the filter it clogs and stops filtering after passing a few table spoons.

Disregarding the filter I cut 3 lb white shellac down to 2 lb and poured it into a clear glass jar and it is very cloudy. After several days there has been some separation. The top 20%(-) is reddish clear.

Can you please describe to me what the cloudy portion is and if that is what is supposed to be filtered out and how it can be filtered if need be and why is White shellac reddish?