DMACD Posted April 16, 2011 Report Share Posted April 16, 2011 Hi - First time poster here . I have a question on lacquers . I recently bought a hvlp spraygun and am itching to use it ! So i built a practice box out of Maple and dyed it with a water based dye (meduim brown ) . Now my question - I was on youtube and they say lacquer is the easiest finish to spray on , So i was wondering can i use any lacquer or do i have to get a certain kind ? Thanx D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted April 16, 2011 Report Share Posted April 16, 2011 Well if this were me...I would go to the local distributor, say Mohawk. The store by me, you don't need a business account, as they sell to walk-ins on certain products. Get a pre-cat lacquer and appropriate reducer. Ask them questions. However, I suggest, for you to go with a good water-based topcoat and learn to spray it. Solvent lacquer, as well as, anything you spray, has a learning curve. It can be a bitch learning to enter the world of spray finishes for the first time using solvents, (when other options exist) the fumes and safe handling of the solvents, learning how to reduce or not to reduce the lacquer, the disposing of the unused lacquer from cleaning the gun cleaning, just extra work in my opinion when learning to spray. That's just me. -Ace- Here is a good water-based topcoat. Or try the General Finishes High Performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Bennett Posted April 16, 2011 Report Share Posted April 16, 2011 I use AC Lacquers but, I'd definitely go with what Ace says. You can even get some very good practice by simply filling the gun with clean water if you can spray that without runs you'll be half way there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted April 16, 2011 Report Share Posted April 16, 2011 +2 I use Polyacrylic a lot. It must be idiot proof for spraying because I have yet to have a problem of any kind with it. Cleans up easily, levels nicely, very hard, and it makes jullian french fries. Ace has a photo on here somewhere of a dining table top right after he sprayed it. That would be a useful picture for you to look at because with water-based, you tend to spray until you just get orange peel (his pic is perfect to show that) as it will level off. Also, it makes a milky film when wet so you think you just ruined everything until it starts to flash off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw1 Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Hi - First time poster here . I have a question on lacquers . I recently bought a hvlp spraygun and am itching to use it ! So i built a practice box out of Maple and dyed it with a water based dye (meduim brown ) . Now my question - I was on youtube and they say lacquer is the easiest finish to spray on , So i was wondering can i use any lacquer or do i have to get a certain kind ? Thanx D Listen to whatever Ace says, he has helped me and others very much. I love the General Finish high performance satin. I also agree with Paul-Marcel on the idiot proof part. I have a cheap hvlp system (rockler) and ADDHDDD ??what something shiny? Squirrel? Where was I? Oh yeah it is very forgiving stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bois Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 General Finishes also has water based sanding sealer and pre-cat poly that are specifically designed for spray application. These are part of their Enduro line which I've had very good success with. I am using their Endurovar on my current project and cleaning the HVLP is just so easy with these products. I can even use these in my basement finish room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimV Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 The guys are trying to scare you away from lacquer, lol. Don't be. Yes, they are correct, it can be tricky to spray since the solvent flashes off so quickly and the fumes require a respirator and air exhaust. But to answer your questions, there are several types of lacquers. There are nitrocellulose, pre-catalyzed, catalyzed, cab-acrylic and even an acrylic-latex. But, no worries. If you want to try to spray lacquer, go to Home Depot or Lowes (if you have one near) and purchase Deft brushing lacquer and lacquer thinner. The brushing lacquer is a nitrocellulose, non-catalyzed lacquer. Mix 75% lacquer and 25% thinner and spray on a test piece. This should get you a nice flow and a thinner coat so it will take multiple layers for additional build. Just play around with the flow controls and amount of thinner until you get a nice coat. The one thing about lacquer is that you'll know it right away what the finish looks like. I started the same way with lacquer. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Hold on TimV........any spray finish whether water or solvent based requires proper protection. Wear those respirators no matter what you are spraying! Proper ventilation is also a must! -Ace- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markhochstein Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 DJM, You might also want to check out Target Coatings Waterbrone Lacquer (link). I've used this stuff and it works great! I agree with Ace, you always need ventilation and a respirator, but using waterborne products will reduce the fumes, negate the need for an explosion proof fan and make cleanup a LOT easier. General Finishes also makes a Waterborne Lacquer (link) but I've never seen it in a store and have no experience with it. Although given my experience with other GF products I'm sure it would work just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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