Wetting Wood Surface with Laquer Thinner

[fRED mCnEILL]

When I am sanding I sometimes wet the surface with lacquer thinner to help locate and scratches I may have missed when sanding. Unlike water or naptha or paint thinner Lacquer thinner evaporates very fast. But I am concerend that it may damage the walnut I am currently finishing.

Anyone know if it can damage the wood or not.

Regards

[Rich Engelhardt]

Wet away.
There's nothing in (fresh) lacquer thinner that can damage the wood. (your body OTOH - - well, "huffers" love toluene)
Most lacquer thinner is a blend of alcohols, toluene, acetone and naphtha or benzene.
A small amount of acetic acid may also be present, but, not in a strong enough concentration to affect the color of the wood.
Just keep the cap on the can between wettings so the fast flashing solvents don't evaporate & the alcohols don't wick moisture from the air.

Make sure you have a lot of ventilation going also.


BTW - have you tried rubbing alcohol?
There's a fair amount of water in rubbing alcohol & it may raise the grain.
It's worlds safer & cheaper than lacquer thinner though.

[steven taggart]

I use it a lot on reclaimed soft woods. It has a tendency to pull up sap sometimes, so watch for that. Other than that have never had a problem with it. Plus it gives the gratification of seeing what the piece will look like with finish on it.

[David Eisenhauer]

NCL and laq thinner really are some nasty, nasty products. They work oh so well, but they are nasty and unsafe to be around. I know, it is your call, not mine.

[Prashun Patel]

I hear you about water and naphtha/mineral spirits. Personally, I think alcohol is a better choice than lacquer thinner.

But an even better choice is to organize low raking light across the piece. If you get the light parallel to the surface, you can see even the smallest of swirls and scratches better (IMHO) than with any wetting. It also lets you see undulations on "flat" surfaces better.

I only recently started doing this, and it's greatly improved my finish quality.

[Howard Acheson]

Most finishers I know use denatured alcohol. It too, evaporates quickly but the fumes are not as potentially dangerous.

[Jim Neeley]

Be careful with LT as the vapors are HIGHLY flammable.. like gasoline.

[Jim Becker]

Safety would keep me from using lacquer thinner for this purpose. I use denatured alcohol or mineral spirits for this purpose; mostly the former.

[fRED mCnEILL]

I tried the light low on the surface and it does work remarkably well. Saves on laquer thinner as well. I'll be using that method from now on.
Thanks

Fred

[Chris Padilla]

Racking light for sure works the best: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raking_light

But I also use low odor mineral spirits.