Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
New finish idea for me?
Barry Irby
>I have been trying to finish a walnut nightstand I built for my son. I Brushed on a coat of Deft "lacquer" on the top and then immediately misted it with a spray can of the same stuff, both "gloss". It seemed to cause any remaining air bubbles to burst and brush marks to lay down and flatten out. I wanted the body of the out of the can finish without having to apply many coats from the spray can. I only tried it on a horzontal surface. Any thoughts on this?
Re: New finish idea for me?
Dale Lenz
>That's a neat trick, there Barry. Good Job! Now if I can keep that information between my ears for the future.
Merry Christmas,
Dale
Re: New finish idea for me?
Paul Dwight
>If it works for you, I can't think of any reason not to continue doing it. I would guess that the thinner in the coat you misted on top partially re-dissolved the layer you brushed on, allowing more time for the brush marks to level out and the air bubbles to work their way to the surface.
The technique might be a little trickier to pull off on vertical surfaces. Obviously, you would want the brushed-on layer to set up before it sagged or developed runs. You'd want to try to find the sweet spot where the sprayed-on mist coat allowed enough time for the brush marks to level but not so much open time that the finish developed sags or runs.
It's an interesting way to deal with brushing lacquer. Thanks for sharing the technique! -- Paul
Re: New finish idea for me?
ScottS
>An interesting idea... but is it necessary? My, perhaps naive, understanding of lacquer is that each layer dissolves into the previous layers. In theory, it sounds like you shouldn't have to worry too much about bubbles or leveling of the finish... until you get to the last layer. Have to admit, I've only used Deft on a few test boards. I just brushed it on in a slap-dash fashion. Didn't sand between coats until I noticed dust, or dog hair (Grrr!) or something else embedded in the finish. After the final coat, I spent some time rubbing the finish to the sheen I wanted. Maybe I just got lucky, but it seemed to work surprisingly well!
A little more info.....
Barry Irby
>I mentioned this to a friend who runs a cabinet shop. He said its called a "pull over" coat. According to him the appliance companies use the technique to get very smooth finishes on appliances. Said the last "coat" may be 90% thinner.
Have not tried it on anything but a horizontal surface.
Re: A little more info.....
Jeff
>I still hate Deft lacquer. I remember using it about 10 yrs ago to refinish a small night stand and thinking it was very thick and plastic looking. I just gave it another try on a pine chimney cupboard I made for my wife. I think Mr Flexner reccomended semi-gloss for various reasons. I still don't like it. I thinned the first coat with 10% lac thinner and then brushed on another two unthinned coats. I goes on too thick, is hard to brush out, smells bad and doesn't dry flat. I know I should be spraying it but I don't have a sprayer yet.... I tried the technique you just described and I still don't like it. I guess I will go back to water based poly....