Spraying Lacquer or Poly

[Bernie Weishapl]

My question is how does everyone go about spraying finishes especially lacquer if you can't open the doors? I needed to spray some lacquer the other day. It was cold, snowing and blowing. I used a 3M half face respirator for spraying. That works but it leaves such a smell in the room. I thought about a exhaust fan but lacquer is so volitale that I woud be concerned with using like a bathroom exhaust fan because the motor could cause sparks. This would be for doing just small turning projects. Just curious. Thanks.

[Doug W Swanson]

When I've sprayed small items I will just close the door to my shop and spray away. Then I just shut the door when I leave and it seems to work ok. If I was spraying multiple items or larger items it might be a problem but this method seems to work for a few small things.....

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Bernie - for a stand-alone shop, you could consider getting a window fan that blows *in* to the shop (and crack some other windows or doors), so the fumes don't go over the fan unit. I would not do that on a shop attached to a house in any way, however.

[Russell Neyman]

I'm a lacquer guy and during the cold winters (we have a high of about 38 here today) it's impossible to spray lacquer in my shop. The high humidity makes the finish foggy and bumpy. Rattlecan poly doesn't fog but it takes forever to dry in the cold. I'm forced to use the downstairs bathroom where it's warm. Can't say that I ever worry about any of it igniting, but the odor does get pretty strong. The bathroom fan helps.

I'd be interested in hearing ideas from other woodworkers who live in less-finishing friendly climates.

[Dennis Ford]

It tends to be warmer where I live, if it is too cold I can wait a few days for warmer temperatures. Humidity is more of a problem. I will brush on lacquer based sanding sealer inside the shop but will not spray lacquer in my shop, the fumes are just too strong. Sometimes I use Wipe on Poly instead of lacquer because of weather issues. For really light colored wood WOP is not suitable and those pieces have to wait if the weather is not suitable for outside spraying.

[Bob Bergstrom]

I have a totally enclosed high velocity fan in my basement window and use whenever I am spraying. A few years a go I got a new furnace. I was done spraying and notice that the house temperature was dropping. Call the furnace guy and he asked if I had a whole house fan. Come to find out that the evacuating fan pull the fumes back down the flue and shut down the furnace. The repair guy showed me where the reset button was. Now I turn off the furnace and spray and turn it back on after. If I use a rattle can, I will step out side spray and leave the bowl out on the poach. If the lacquer and bowl are warm it usually flows out pretty well.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Bernie,
I wouldn't even consider spraying the solvent based lacquer I use in an enclosed area without good exhaust. I built a spray booth fan into the shop. It is housed in a little enclosure I built onto the shop so I can close it in to save heat when not in use. The fan not only removes the vapor, it pulls over spray away from the item being sprayed. I make sure the shop, the lacquer and the item to be sprayed are all nice and warm before I begin. My heater can't make up the air being sucked out but the lacquer dries so quickly I still get a very good job. Have you tried water based products? They might be less dangerous without a fan. I avoid spraying in wet weather. If I must, I add a retarder to the lacquer so the moisture doesn't get trapped and cause blushing.
faust

[Rob Price]

YMMV, but I taped paper over the middle part of a box fan where the motor is, a furnace filter over the rest and used that to exhaust the fumes outside for SMALL projects (i.e. rattle can) and haven't had a problem- my thought being the filter catches any droplets and the small about of fumes isn't enough to cause a sparking problem. I use my HVLP outside for bigger stuff and just have to wait for better weather.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Thanks to all. Well my doc says I have to do something. So I am going to Denver and going to try some General Finishes water based. I have also called some friends and did some research that Polycrylic, GF High Performance Poly and Enduro-var have some very good results. So will try a pint of each and see what happens.

[Rob Price]

Have any of you tried spraying the WTF before? On their website the guy sprays it on a piece spinning on the lathe with and airbrush, just curious.

[Bernie Weishapl]

No Rob I haven't I have my airbrush system set up in another room of the shop. What I need to do in mount it so it is portable.

[Peter Elliott]

Bernie, tell me what your spraying with... I shot pretty much everything. I am a huge GF fan, I use a ton of their product. Waterborne Lacquers are not really lacquers, it's more of a marketing spin BUT they can resemble a lacquer finish.

If you can't spray, I highly suggest GF Arm-r-seal or Enduro Var as a wipe on alternative. There is also some good Sherwin Williams WB products as well.

But tell me what gun you are shooting, shop space and any furnace, heaters, ignition sources.

[BILL DONAHUE]

You could try moving to Florida so you could open up the doors. The problem is in the summer time it's so hot and humid the laquer won't dry so then you have to go back to Kansas.

[Steve Trauthwein]

Bernie,

I will cover my lathe with paper and place the small item on it. I then turn on my dust removal with the hose a couple of feet from the piece being sprayed. After spraying I leave the dust removal system running for a few minutes and then move the piece to a drying cabinet with a light for a heat source. Works ok, I hope.

Steve

[Michelle Rich]

Bernie: I would consider using less toxic materials..whether it be summer or winter. The toxic chemicals, will head out one window & in another...they dissapate, but are always in the air & mix with other chemicals & you are breathing a toxic soup. if you have neighbors, they are breathing your soup too. We are lucky today to have many good, less toxic to very green products