Rattlecan: Poly vs lacquer

Rennie Heuer

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I have several small boxes to make. I'll be using walnut, QSWO, and mahogany. I have used spray can poly before with acceptable results, but there is a long wait for re-coating and the dry time allows dust to settle in the finish. These are display boxes and won't see regular handling, so the scratch resistance of the poly is really not an issue.

I've been thinking about using spray can lacquer as my finish. I'd start off with a coat of thinned dewaxed shellac to bring up the grain and color, light sanding with 320, then apply as many coats of finish as needed, sanding/steel wool between coats as needed.

If I understand what I have read to date, the lacquer has a faster dry time and can re-coat sooner. With poly I can do 3 coats a day with no problem if the conditions are good. However, that means two days to finish.

Can I cut down the finish time using lacquer?:huh:
 
Sorry I can't help with the Lacquer. What about a wipe on poly? You can mix in some Naptha and it will dry fast. Also hearing that the newer water base wipe on, dry really fast.
 
I use quite a bit of rattlecan lacquer on turned pieces, and I like it a lot. It is ready to re-coat much sooner than poly, and like you said, there is less chance of the wet finish getting contaminated with dust. And although I do use a wipe-on finish quite a bit too, I like spraying because it's easier to keep from getting handling marks in the wet finish as I'm applying it.

I get my best results when I apply lighter coats than I think I need. ;)
 
Depending on conditions you can sand and re coat in as little as 30 minutes using lacquer. I love the stuff for ease of use!:thumb:
 
Sorry I can't help with the Lacquer. What about a wipe on poly? You can mix in some Naptha and it will dry fast. Also hearing that the newer water base wipe on, dry really fast.
The only problem with the water based wipe-on is that it raises the grain. I tried it but went back to the oil based.

Lacquer dries pretty quickly. I use a water based spray lacquer but put dewaxed shellac on first to avoid the grain raising problem. I use a spray gun - I don't think water based lacquer is available in a rattle can.

Mike
 
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Rennie, have you tried wiping on shellac, at a 2# cut? A thin coat will dry in an hour or so.
I wipe on shellac as a first coat on most all my projects. I usually follow with several coats of wipe on poly. However, for these small boxes I was thinking it would be much faster to apply the one coat of shellac, sand, assemble and then finish with spray. Wiping on a finish on a small item with lots of nooks, crannies, and inside corners can get to be a real pain.
 
Can I get multiple votes?

Lacquer lacquer lacquer lacquer lacquer

When I built my guitar, I used rattle can lacquer as instructed by the teacher and boy did he start something with me. I'm a spray lacquer junkie now - cans or guns. What a well behaved finish!

Dries fast.
Repairable.
Looks amazing!

It CAN be a little finicky in humidity, though - bein's I live in no-humidity land 8 months out of the year, it hasn't been a huge problem for me. :)
 
My answer to the original question, is that yes...spray can lacquer will dry faster than a spray can of oil base polyurethane. I don't use solvent based lacquer anymore for many reasons, and have gone to waterbase polyurethane. Whatever grain raising happens if any is really inconsequential. As the in-between sanding occurs, the finish gets smooth pretty much after the first or second application. Of course that may depend on the species and what grit the surface had been abraded to.

As for the products called "waterbase lacquer", check the MSDS. They are within the same guidelines as waterbase polyurethane. If there is doubt about whether it is a "lacquer", and I'm referring to an acetone based (lacquer thinner), lacquer...check for what the clean up or reducing agent would be. If it says "water", it's a waterbase polyurethane. Manufacturers can call their product anything they want to sell it.



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