Thread: Lacquer dipping help!

A trick I use with CABLO is to use a very slight smear of Shellawax on the bushings and the reinsert them into the tubes. A wipe around with a tissue, working away from the blank will remove any of the very small quantity of Shellawax that may have been squeezed out. This helps with a clean removal, along with the careful scoring with a Stanley knife.

Thanks Artme, might give that a go and see if it helps....

I let mine hang about a day, 12 to 18 hours after the final dip, depending on the temp, and score as close to the blank as I can.
Depending on the blank, I score directly on the break line betwen the bushing and the blank.

I have only had that happen once or twice, and both times I wrote it off to either the lacquer not being completly dry and hard or I had finger oils or other contaniments on the end...I like the waxed bushing idea, but I would use a Qtip or cotton swab and apply the wax inside the tube, not on the bushing, so when the bushing is pushed into the tube, the wax isn't squeezed/ scraped out the end and get on the blank.
If it has been a day or two since your final dip and the goobers, or any of the lacquer is still soft, then the lacquer may need to be thinned more...after 2 days, all of it should be rock hard.

You didn't mention the dry time between dips, but you might increase it a little and see and make sure the inital or first dip is completly dry before going on with it...this dip seals the wood and is the base for all the other following applications.

Only repair suggestion I have is to clean the bushings, lightly sand the delaminated area and re dip the blank and see if it works.

This is going to be an experimental process for everyone, as temps and humidity differ.
I am lucky, my shed/shop/garage is air conditioned, so the temp runs about 78 degrees F and the humidity is controled some...out where you are things are most likely different enough that you will have to adjust dip time spacing and final dry time length.

Before you started dipping, did you clean the blank with lacquer thinner to remove any finger oils and such?

Keep us informed as to how the "repair" or fix goes...
Ed

Thanks Ed, lots of things to consider.

It's been pretty cool and damp here lately, 50-60 degrees F, so I may not have left enough time between coats, although I did bring them inside to cure.

This one's an experiment, so I might turn it back to bare wood, clean with thinner like you suggest (didnt think of that one!), and start again with a slightly more diluted mixture & waxed bushings.

I'll post an update when I've had another go...

cheers

Dave

Good deal...I forget its starting up in winter there, right?
Here summer is just starting...been 98F everyday for about a week or two, so finishes dry really quick.
Kinda courious about the waxed bushing too, I might give that a try myself.
I remember from auto repair in highschool that auto lacquer is reduced or thinned according to the spray booth temp...the cooler it is, the thinner the mix so it drys better...you might call the shop that sold you the lacquer and see what they recomend as a mix for your temps or go on line to the makers website and see what it says.

Keep us informed Dave

Ta guys, I turned off the finish on thursday and re-applied the lacquer thursday and last night.

Thinned the lacquer down to about 2:1 thinner:lacquer, and kept about 2 hours between coats (hence having to split it over 2 days). I've been keeping it inside so it's warm enough to cure.

I think I've got enough coats, had 12 dips so far. Looks like a nice depth to the finish, probably not as thick as last time, which may have been a bit too thick. The last coat was last night, so it's had about 17 hours to cure. I have to go out this evening, so I'm going to take the bushings off before I leave or first thing tomorrow morning.

I'll post the final results in a day or two (hopefully tomorrow).

stay tuned...

What happened? What happened?

Patience, grasshopper...

I've seperated one barrel earlier this evening, the other one I'll do tomorrow, to see what difference another 12 hours or so of curing does to it.

On one end I cut a fraction too close to the edge between the barrel and the bushing and had very minor delamination (a couple of tiny spots - will post pics in the morning), but the other end came away perfectly. The waxed bushings seemed to help this time.

I reckon cutting about half a mm from the bushing/barrel join seems to be the right spot to cut, I noticed as the knife went through the lacquer there was a tendence for it to lift a small section either side of the cut line away from the bushing - if the cut is too close it lifts a section off the barrel.

I havent trimmed the ends yet, so I'll try and get some close ups of each end to illustrate it.

Must get sleep now - more tomorrow...

I have been also experimenting with the dipping process, following the same thread for ideas. I had the same problem so instead of using a bushing as a spacer i cut a small piece (bout 3/8s of an inch) of the same brass tubing i used in the pen. Created a smaller diameter for the base. Another thing to give a go if u need it
Mark.

Interesting idea Marc, how did it turn out, did you have any problems with drips forming on the bottom edge of the barrel doing it that way?

Ok, heres the photos on the barrel I cut off last night:

This is the end that worked really well (cut 1/2mm from the timber, edges havent ben trimmed):


The end that didnt (cut *really* close to the timber, again hasnt been trimmed yet):

this resulted in slight delamination on the edge as the bushings were removed (visible in the centre of the edge) .

unfortunately, when I trimmed the excess off the ends, it delaminated again (including the good end). Probably the git holding the knife was the culprit on that one . I've cleaned up the edges at the delamination, lightly sanded them and dipped just the end to see if it can be repaired, otherwise I'll try yet again...

The second barrel that has had another half a day to cure fared much better. possibly because I tried a slightly different method when I removed the bushings (and was a bit more carefull trimming the excess). After scoring about half a mm from the edge of the barrel, I cut the lacquer away from the bushing, cutting directly away from the barrel. This seemed to provide a cleaner seperation and reduce the chance of lacquer on the bushing from pulling lacquer off the timber.

Here's the assembled barrel:

Gidgee on a satin copper cigar (well, it will be once the other end is done).

I'm still a bit uncertain about dipping with the bushings, it seems to me that the edge creates a natural point for the finish to lift from. Might just be that this particular lacquer needs a much longer drying time to bond to the surface, but it still looks to me like it's asking for trouble.

any thoughts?

anyone tried dipping without bushings and managed to avoid edge drips?

DM

I thinned it a little more and that seems to have stopped the drip forming.