Finish that won't dry

Gene Miller

Member
Messages
101
Location
Boca Raton FLorida
i would like to fix the top of my dining room table. about 2 years ago i stripped it with formby's products and then sprayed a lacquer on it. the finish is still sticky. plates, glasses and anything else you put on it stick. recently i place a table cloth on it and it left a perfect impression of the lace pattern. any idea of what i did wrong? How do i get this sticky stuff off ? thanks Gene
 
Hi Gene,
I am not that well versed in finishes but I have had some finishes for me that would not harden. For me it has been so confusing, and mostly with lacquers and alchohol stains. I ended up stripping some back to square one and others that had the color right I just sprayed with a lacquer sanding sealer. We do have some really sharp guys here and hopefully they will chime in in the next few days to solve the problem of the soft and lacy pattern in your top.:D
The answer is out there!
Shaz
 
It sounds to me that a residue of wax or other previous finish remained on the table top before you applied the lacquer. This would be enough to prevent the lacquer curing properly.

Or did you use a two-pack lacquer? If so maybe you didn't add enough catalyst.

Either way the lacquer hasn't cured. Unfortunately the only solution is to strip it off right back to the bare wood. Then treat the wood with a cleaning solution to kill any wax in the pores, sand and refinish.
 
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I'm with Duncan. Sounds like contaminates. LOML's got a table with the same disease that on the list. Previous owners re-did the kitchen and all was well except the table (???). I have a feeling someone got burned out and just skipped or short changed a refinishing step on hers.
 
gene, i`ve never known lacquer to not cure in short order....

Same here. One possibility is that if it was precat lacquer it could have been out of date. My Sherman-Willimans store had some cans four years old and I believe the limit is four months but could be six months. They thought it might be OK. Ha!:eek:

Odds are that you do not still have the can, but if you do check the date and compare it to the date that you applied it. If you don't have it you might want to go back where you bought it and look at the dates on the cans that they have in stock. That should give you some idea.
 
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you guys are thinking way to fancy. my lacquer came out of a spray can. i wouldn't begin to know what to do with a precat lacquer or 2 part conversion. can you spray that stuff through a power wagner. the product was made by deft and does have something stamped on the bottom but only the manufacturer would know what it means. how do i get that sticky stuff off ? i will probably just replace it with a water based poly.
 
gene,
use lacquer thinner on a rag, outdoors if you don`t like the smell.
thinner will eat most household rubber gloves so don`t bother.
i`ve never tried spraying nitrocellouse out of a wagner but if it has plastic parts or is the electric model i`d not try it.
on an average sized dining table i can easily shoot, sanded between coats, 10-12 coats of nitrocellouse over a weekend, if it`s warm-n-dry in a day. don`t knock lacquer, it`s worked well for lotsa years, for lotsa folks.
ask any furniture refinisher what finish they hate...almost all will state polyurethane.
 
i was just joking about the wagner. i guess my sense of humor didn't translate. my other always says she doesn't get me. i'm not knocking lacquer, i'm just afraid that something left over from the formbys will stop it from drying again.
 
i was just joking about the wagner. i guess my sense of humor didn't translate. my other always says she doesn't get me. i'm not knocking lacquer, i'm just afraid that something left over from the formbys will stop it from drying again.

gene, i wouldn`t know what that could be? lacquer will burn through even light wax:eek:.....don`t try it though:rolleyes:.....
 
gene, i wouldn`t know what that could be? lacquer will burn through even light wax:eek:.....don`t try it though:rolleyes:.....

You must have different lacquers over there, Tod!

In my experience even the faintest hint of wax left on a table top will stop the lacquer from curing - normally in small areas where a bit of wax has been missed.

I can't help thinking that in these circumstances I'd bite the bullet and make a new top!

It'd be quicker than taking all the finish off and starting again.
 
duncan, i shoot plain ol` nitrocellouse....if i`m going to spray a piece that`s been in use i`ll wipe it down with scotchbrite and mineral spirits, let it dry and squirt a coat of sealer thinned 75% or so, scuff with warn 220 paper and hit `er again `till i can see some build......never had any lift of gum up yet? and i`ve used the same technique using several different manufacturers lacquer.....what i don`t use is the pre-cat stuff, or post cat....maybe that`s the difference? tod
 
duncan, i appreciate the advice about the new top but i don't have the skill to try that just yet. what i do have is plenty of time to take off the old finish. thanks tod i didn't know that lacquer thinner would dissolve the finish. i would have probably bought some type of stripper.
 
After using a stripper you need to wash the wood down with turpitine to remove any chemicals remaing. Next you should let it dry for atleast 2 days before putting any finish on it.
 
if you do use stripper do like al says only read the lable....some of `em used to contain lye and that needs to be nutralized before any finishing. one stripper i`ve found that`ll eat most anything is called aircraft stripper, it`s only found at automotive paint stores in these parts.
 
i'm going to use the lacquer thinner so that when i reapply the lacquer there won't be any problems with compatability. I'll sand and reapply the finish, then spray it with lacquer. I bought a can of it and right now I am spraying a sample to make sure that it's not the lacquer. i'm sure that i left something on the wood from the formby's that didn't get removed properly. i'll use the sample board and do everything 1 day ahead so i can make sure that there aren't any problems. am i right in assuming that lacquer will cure overnight in this florida heat and i could place something on it the next day without sticking.
 
i stripped off the old lacquer finish with lacquer thinner and let it dry. i applied an oil based stain and let it dry 24 hrs. i'm using an aerosol called cabot lacquer and it was going fine. on the 4th coat it turned white. What did i do, and can i correct it without starting over again ?
 
i stripped off the old lacquer finish with lacquer thinner and let it dry. i applied an oil based stain and let it dry 24 hrs. i'm using an aerosol called cabot lacquer and it was going fine. on the 4th coat it turned white. What did i do, and can i correct it without starting over again ?

it blushed.....no big deal, usually caused by high humidity or recoating to soon. the cure is simple, let it dry then lightly scuff with warn 220 paper or scotchbrite and recoat it should look fine so long as the humidity is low?
 
the can on the back says recoat anytime but the front says to recoat after 2 hrs. i went for the 2 hrs. unfortunately the humidity is always high. i live in south florida. i'll wait to recoat again when i have a lower humidity day. we are supposed to get some cool and dry air soon.
 
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