spray lacquer-how many coats?

[spring]

I am applying a spray lacquer to a fretwork clock. How do I know when I have applied enough coats? :?

[bitingmidge]

Gidday Spring,

It's like love.... you'll know. :D

I'm not a lacquer expert, nor a finishing expert, so my response could well leave the experts shuddering, but here goes:

It really depends on the "look" you are trying to achieve.

If you want to get the glossy plastic-encapsulated look, use more coats and lay 'em on. Brightwork on boats typically gets five or eight coats of varnish over three of epoxy, and that's just the non-fanatics.

On the other hand, for Rocker's Z-spring chair (http://www.woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?p=542449#) we used about 5 light coats of satin. "About" because of the complex shapes, some got more, some got less. The chair will be rubbed out with steel wool and Ubeaut Traditional Wax, to give a "warm" natural(ish) feel and look.

I know some would say that we were wasting our time wiht lacquer, that we could have achieved the same with Oils or wipe on finishes, but not in a few hours one afternoon we couldn't.

I don't think I've answered your question, perhaps it would be best for you to experiment to get the look you are happy with?

cheers,

P

[joe greiner]

I'm not much of an expert, either, but in general I'd guess 5 coats would suffice. On fretwork, however, you might want less because the fine details could get lost in excessive buildup. Experimentation would be best, on a piece with the finest level of detail to match the fretwork, i.e. sharpest interior angles.

Joe

[spring]

Thanks guys :)

[soundman]

There is the other extreem.........quote a prominent member here "almost everything that goes out of my workshop gets two coats of nitro... thats all"

Thats the whole point of laquer....you can please yourself... It is a finish capable of a big variety of results all in the one can.

I have heard of people putting 12 or more coats on...

cheers

[spring]

Soundman, I have read about people putting lots of coats on, but is 12 any different to 4? :? Guess i'll have to experiment.

[MajorPanic]

Just a word of caution here.

The number of coats is directly tied to how much you thin the lacquer & the look you are after.

For fretwork you'd want to spray quite thinned coats so you don't lose the fine detail & something in the order of 5+ coats should do it nicely.

[durwood]

5 coats of lacquer is more than enough. You want to seal the timber not bury it.

Paint is usually applied to a thickness of about 3 thou/inch That's 5 coats lacquer or 2 coats of enamel.

5 coats of lacquer thinned 50% or more will give you about that amount.( it should go on wet without any dry spray showing especially in the fret work.)

As MajorPanic has said it will depend on how you thin the lacquer and how you spray it. If you move the gun slowly you will deposit more, if you hold the gun further away you will put down less. The normal proceedure is 3 coats 50% (rub any blemishes if they exist) then 2 coats about 80% thinner to get smooth finish and no dry spray. If the fret is fine you may want to thin the lacquer more but keep it between 3 & 5 coats and let each coat dry before the next (5 minutes)

If you go more coats you not only waste the paint you run the risk of creating problems the most common is cracking of the paint film.

Applying additional coats of lacquer is often put forward as being better. If you read some hot rod magazines you often see quoted that the vehicle has 50 coats of lacquer ( or other paints also). This usually means the surface was so bad the painter had to keep applying more coats as every time he tried to rub it flat and polish it he broke through the coating. He used most of the paint to fill the ripples in the surface.

As you only see the top coat its hard to tell whether there is 1 or 100 if the surface underneath is smooth so extra coats is a waste of time and money.

[spring]

Thanks durwood and MajorPanic.