Thread: Polishing up lacquer

Originally Posted by Arron

Hi folks. When I use WOP, the last thing I do is polish it lightly with an automotive cut and polish compound. It removes any tiny blemishes or dust nibs and makes it feel dead smooth. Is there an equivalent strategy for spray lacquer (Wattyl Stylwood in my case)?

cheers
Arron

I just came across this thread and since no one has replied, I thought I would try to help. I have recently taken up spraying myself and understand that you would follow the same process as you previously have, assuming that a gloss finish is what you are after. Automotive polishes and compounds work well, but some contain silicone which could cause problems down the track.

I have just ordered this product for the job - it seems reasonably priced on a per litre basis and an examination of the MSDS reveals that it has no silicone.

3M Microfinishing Compound 3.78 Ltrs

thanks - I was wondering why I'd got no response.

by the way, what product are you spraying ?

cheers
Arron

Use the same type pf cutting compound i.e.t-cut,kitten. ,polyglaze etc. on the lathe to friction polish it. It doesnt matter as long as you watch out for the silicone component and be care full not to cut right through the coating.osing micromesh sanding pads first saves a lot of work (use wet) I use a squirty bottle ?but dont pinch the missus ironing one.the sandpaperman.com has them at a good price
Cheers
Scotty

Pulling over is a usefull technique with lacquer.

Never heard of 'pulling over' before. A quick google tells me its using a mix like 50/50 thinners and meths - rubbing with a soft cloth over the last coat after its dried - to smooth out any imperfections. Correct?

Thanks for bringing it up - cant wait to experiment with it.

Cheers
Arron

Arron, its often just refered to as pulling. Yes, thats it, though there are a lot of variations, depending what you are trying to achieve. For instance, open grain timber can be filled by pulling the early coats while they are still just touch dry. A pad or rubber is used, the surface of which is determined by the level of dryness and the finish required. The one common denominator is the pad must be lint free and non sacrificial. Its the same as french polishing, only not as detailed.

For filling with the early coats, do you mean that the rubber pad is used with or without a pulling solution of some sort?

Ya gota remember the whole point of laquer is getting a gloss straight off the gun.

Sure you can cut it and rub it out, but the whole point of laquer is that it flows out.

If you have any dust or nibs...most of that will be sanding, preparation or contamination issues,.....ya need to work on those.

one method that is more common with spraying rather than pulling is misting over.
Once the product is applied and and faults have been addressed, the job can be misted over with thinner only, which allows the finish to reflow and any scratches to simply melt away and the finish self levels.
Basicaly an even just barely wet coat of thinner.

One mistake with laquer is laying on too much and not thinning sufficinetly........it is possible to spray some of the laquers as 70 or 80% thinner.

spraying thin fast drying coats, minimises contamination problems and allows many coats in the one day...in favorable condiitions flash off time can be seconds and the piece can be handled in minutes.

rather than using compound or pollish, it is common to wet sand 600-800 the last couple of coats....finer is not required as the following coats melt the preceeding scratch pattern and a beautifull gloss flow out follows.

If you are looikg for a compound, go to your automotive refinish supplier, they will have compounds that do not have silicon in them....the car spray painters hate silicon as much as we do.

I have a compound here that is alox microabrasive, kerro and water nothing else....there are some very very good new microabrasive compounds out now that employ a regular particle technology......the microabrasive particals are more like spheres than jagged little rocks


BTW if you have nibs and lumps ya wont to go after those with a block and some very veryfine paper before you go to the compound.

cheers

Originally Posted by Arron

For filling with the early coats, do you mean that the rubber pad is used with or without a pulling solution of some sort?

Yes, the pad is used without a solution. The pad is not made of rubber, it is called a rubber, the same as a french polishing rubber. Soft leather or goat skin are good. I use fallow deer hide with cloth inside. Deer hide has a verticle grain as opposed to other leathers which have an angular grain that cause the rubber to have a different feel or effect on the pull and push stroke.