Magnalac and General HVLP Help

[John Viercinski]

I have an HVLP and Lacquer spraying question. I'm a newbie to HVLP spraying and the use of lacquer. The reason I chose lacquer over latex or oil based paint for refinishing cabinets is to get a real professional and durable result. I'd like them to look like I bought them already finished from Kraftmaid or something.

This past weekend, I sprayed some older crappy cabinet fronts (frames, doors, drawers) in our vacation home with a white satin Magnalac using my Fuji MM3 HVLP spray gun. I followed them up with one coat of semi-gloss clear Magnalac. They were primed with Zinsser (sp?) BIN shellac based primer, which was also sprayed on. The BIN was ready-to-spray without thinning. They're red oak and after a few coats of the Magnalac, they came out just OK. I'll provide before and after pictures once they're installed. I also painted some knotty pine for an island I built and it looks better than the red oak doors, so it may be a combination of my inexperience and the strong oak grain.

My question is really geared at the method and procedure for spraying a lacquer. I had a hard time seeing the lacquer over the primer since they were both white. So I would spray over each item a couple times holding the gun about 3-4 inches away with the air all the way open and the fluid mixture very lightly open (2-3 turns). In some spots, I got heavy lacquer spots from holding the gun still too long. By the time I was done going around the room, the cabinet where I started would be already dry. So, my question is really, how do you spray lacquer? Do you thin it? Do you put it on with slow spray motions? Do you put it on thick? How many coats? Do you need to sand between coats?

Any advice you could give me would be helpful!!!

[Phil Phelps]

Your HVLP lays down a lot of material compared to a siphon gun. I thin my lacquer about 50/50 and strain through a nylon stocking. You want a wide fan on your gun and overlap coats by half. You want good even wet coats. I don't think you thinned either product enough. You need to play with it a bit to get used to spraying with a HVLP.

[John Viercinski]

Thanks. I'll try that. How many coats do you typically use then once its thinned?

[Craig Thompson]

John,

I am not and expert... but Phil said it , trial and error, its all about your gun... any time we spray the ML Magnalac, I change out to 1.7 nozzle and thin the product by 20% or so. I have only used it on 3 kitchens though (who wants to cover up the wood??).. so my usage may be flawed. Wide, wet pattern has worked.

Though they say it is not needed/required.... My ML guys have recommended putting on a topcoat. If your going to have to paint it... might as well put a nice finish on it, The clearcoat gives a real nice appearance in my book.. Like the 17th coat of clear over the vintage vehicle of your choice .