First spray finish project

[zayd alle]

Hello, folks.


I am spraying TransTinted dewaxed shellac on cherry cabinets, followed by GF Enduro Var WB semi-gloss. I've still got quite a bit to learn about finishing in general, although I have read both Flexner's Understanding Wood Finishing as well as Jewitt's Spray Finishing Made Simple. As this is my first sprayed project (4-stage turbine HVLP), I do have a few questions for those with more experience:


1. Should I sneak up on the desired color with multiple coats of tinted shellac or spray one coat tinted to the color I want? I ask because I am concerned about overlapping the shellac and producing streaks of darker color if I use the latter approach, but my concerns may be unfounded.


2. Do I need to sand the shellac coat or simply denib it (if necessary) before the Enduro Var? The Zinnser can is somewhat ambiguous on this.


3. On spray technique: I have 40 drawer fronts & drawers to spray. This is my first large-scale sprayed project, so I'd prefer to spray the pieces flat to avoid runs. I suppose that means spray the backs, then spray the edges and fronts, repeating for however many coats. If that's the case, how do you prevent the "overspray feel" at the transition point between front and back? I'd imagine if, for example, you sprayed the back, let dry, then sprayed the edges and front, you'd get some overspray texture on the outer ends of the back. Or should I get a set of those spray hangers from Rockler and just spray all sides at once?


Thanks, folks. Your guidance is appreciated.

Zayd

[Scott Holmes]

You will be much better off spraying the dye as a dye; not as a toner.

Two reasons:

1. Spraying the dye gives a more even color than wiping or brushing the dye.
2. Spraying multiple coats of shellac toner could end up with too thick a coat of shellac.

Shellac should be the thinnest possible coat that is flawless. Building thick shellac coat will cause alligator crack down the road.

Most toners are lacquer based and they can be built up to a thicker coat than shellac.

[zayd alle]

Thanks, Scott.

The tinted shellac was attractive to me because I didn't want to spray dye in water, raise the grain and necessitate sanding, given the many panels I am finishing, each with lots of profiled edges and such. For some reason, Jeff at Homestead steered me away from spraying Transtint in DNA, which should raise the grain minimally. Is there a problem spraying it in DNA?

Zayd

[Scott Holmes]

Only that there is a definite learning curve. You need to feather the spray at the end of the stroke if another stroke will overlap the end of the stroke. If you don't you will end up with darker stripes. Dotto if you pray across the grain and don't do it near perfectly.

Again this should not be learned on your project.

Grain raising is not really an issue... I'm in the middle of a reclaimed pine bedroom suite sprayed with water/dye then sealed with garnet shellac now doing touch up and then 2 coats of top coat. NEXT will be the first time after dye shellac and 2 top coats that I hit it with 320 sandpaper. Any raised grain that is still sticking up will easily be sanded off with little worry of cutting into the color.