Brush on Deft lacquer vs spray lacquer???

[Mark Levitski]

In my quest for the best overall finish for my turnings, which include bowls and hollow forms mostly, and for what works best for art shows (read rain) and especially what sells best, I have temporarily arrived at wiping varnish. I have recently liked the Waterlox Original the best. I will not monkey with lacquer anymore. Waterlox gives me both the protection and the grain/figure enhancements, as well as the flexibility for building the gloss. I actually find that one coat wiped (yes, I said wiped--it's a really simple finish to apply) is enough for close to an "in the wood" finish (sells better for me) with more protection. I've had too many errant raindrops make extra work for me with some other concoctions. On another note, I've switched any wax I use to Rennaisance for similar reasons. With the Waterlox I might not even need to apply any wax, although I still buff after the finish has cured. Wow, it's really working well for me.

[John Keeton]

Mark, I have never used Waterlox, though it gets rave reviews in the flat world. It does, however, have a short shelf life. I don't know how much production you have, but does that ever present a problem for you? And, how do you deal with that?

[Mark Levitski]

Yes, John, the shelf life requires some management. But it isn't as bad as I have read about. It solidifies quickly if you put some in a smaller container, but the rest of the can takes a lot longer. Some suggest the Bloxygen or collapsible containers or even marbles added as you take the liquid out. Haven't needed to do any of that yet.

Between my wife's rustic branch and twig furniture and my turnings we are needing to produce a lot and have been gravitating to using Waterlox as the go-to finish. We like an in the wood finish and dislike the plastic, heavily-glossed look (so do our customers). Since only one-coat of the original Waterlox is plenty to accomplish this, we don't go through a lot of it. Because it is an easy wipe on and offers good protection from the dreaded watermarks at shows, and because it leaves a finish that we like, I am for now enamoured of it until a better thing comes along.

By the way, we deal with a gummy, hardened Waterlox can by tossing it and opening a new one. One of the "consumables" like sandpaper and such that get factored into the price of our work.

[Karl Card]

Concerning my comment earlier in the thread about sanding lacquer, I should have been more thorough.

What I was getting at is that say you are doing a pen or small turning.
I actually do not use a brush, I dip my finished turnings into the lacquer.
Let them dry for 2 hours and dip again. I usually do this 3 or 4 times just depending on how the piece is looking etc.

After it cures I use steel wool on it to get it perfect and then us a little triple EEE and it comes out silky smooth and clear as glass...

But I will say this, I have found out the weather conditions have to be good to before it will cure properly and harden. I am also still going to change to precat laq as soon as the funds are right to get a descent spray gun and get filter/vent setup to run fumes outside.

[Cody Armstrong]

I know this thread is ancient but thought I'd post the question here.

I've got a project that I'm finishing with Deft brush on semi-gloss. I'd prefer a satin finish rather then a gloss. Since I live in the "Bermuda Triangle" Satin finish in brush on Deft is not carried by a store close to me.
Is it ok to spray the final coat/s with the satin finish Deft from a spray can? On parts of the project there are three coats of brush on applied already.
I assume the spray would be fine over the brushed but not sure about the semi-gloss/satin.

[Fred Belknap]

Cody I'm no expert but I think you will be ok putting the spray can lacquer over brush on. You will probably have to do some sanding to get a smooth finish or at least steel wool. I have been experimenting with a chepo spray gun and it seems to work better than a spray can. I get a finish that looks and feels like an orange peel with the rattle can. I am experimenting using automotive clear coat on some bowls and it seems to do a great job and levels out nice even with my rustic set up, like doors open fans going. The automotive clear coat is crystal clear and has low oder. At $26 quart it is kind of expensive. I have thinned brush on lacquer with acetone and it looks good to. Around here about the only kind of lacquer you can get is brush on and rattle can. I get the clear coat at auto supply store but have found that Tractor Supply has it a lot cheaper. Will have to check that out.

[Richard Coers]

Brush on Deft already has the retarder in it. Don't know about their rattle can.

[robert baccus]

Started spraying lacquer in 1957 on cars and wood. First a thought---The comment about precat lacquer--easily the best I've tried. Goes on straight up, no thinning(maybe retarder in high humidity) and it is clear--no yellow.. One coat is equal to 5-6 coats of nitro. or rattlecan. 2 coats will be plenty for wetsanding/compounding/wax. Waterbased lacquer is a play on words--it isn't even close. Oil under lac. is fine for popping the color. Heavy bodied sanding sealer is made for undercoating lac.---seals and acts as a filler for pores and sands like chalk. Saves 4-5 coats of shellac or lacquer to fill pores. Shellac has been made obsolete by good sanding sealers for lacquer work. A rattle can of retarder, SS, and lacquer in the shop is great for repairs. Retarder is necessary for any serious lacquer work for preventing fogging and helping flowout. Deft and other bigbox store brands are only so-so quality. Mowhawk and Behlen are great brands as are others. Mowhawk makes the only good thick SS I can find and I have tried many brands.. Also precatalyzed lacquer keeps crosslinking (much like epoxy) after drying for days and produces a superhard finish. It is actually hard to wetsand after several days drying. Best thing about a gun is being able adjust the mix for conditions. Using nitrocellse lac. it usually takes only 1 wetsanding between start and finish spraying to knock back orangepeel. Wet sanding with slightly soapy water and a 200-400 grit sponge will flatten the laquer quickly. Then maybe compound/wax ect. Enough about lac.--been doing it all day. Being lazy I do 95% of my spraying, sanding, compounding and waxing on the lathe. This seems to prevent runs to a degree. Hope this helps some.

[robert baccus]

OBTW--overspraying with semigloss if they are both lacquers is fine. A fine scotchbrite pad and wax probably looks better and easier. For anyone using a gun Behlen sells flattner by the quart so you can adjust the gloss to your liking by mixing into your lacquer.

[Cody Armstrong]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll definitely do a test piece first. Just wanted some opinions. When the project is finished I'll post some pics in the Woodworking Projects section.