Thanks for the cold advice..now another question and Target recommendation for cherry

[Clisby Clark]

So I got the last coat sprayed and brought the pieces into the house which wasn't that big a deal after all. This was my fist time spraying any target products and I have one comment and a question.

First the comment. I read on the Target forum where Jeff W. advised someone to spray Golden Red Ultraseal under EM8000 to simulate solvent finishes and this works like a charm. I sprayed two light coats of the shellac before topcoating and am very pleased with the color. Jeff was also very helpful to me over the phone.

Now the question. As I said, I'm a rank rookie with Target products and was unsure exactly how thick to spray the product. I know it should be 2 mils but being without a mil gauge, I had no idea how thick my coats were. As it turns out, I think my first coats were way too thin because the finish felt rough after drying. I sprayed a third coat on and that took care of everything but my drawer fronts which had some small nibs that I didn't like. After two hours of drying I sanded the fronts down flat with brand new 320 paper and wiped down with a freshly cleaned towel and still got more nibs than I want. This time, though, they are very small-about the size of a pinpoint.

I know most people will never know the nibs are there, but I want to learn how to avoid this problem in the future. What do you think went wrong? I sprayed three flat plywood panels almost flawlessly as well as a beaded face frame and a frame-and panel side piece that turned out very well.

I will admit the shop wasn't totally dust-free and will try to do a better job preparing the shop in the future.

Is there any way to knock the nibs down and avoid respraying the drawer fronts?

Thanks as always!

[Phil Phelps]

When I spray Bin primer, or any lacquer, the first coat always raises the grain. I use 220 to lightly sand the nibs and go to the next coat. I usually get a few nibs after the second coat, so I knock them down and proceed to the third coat that is usually clean. The longer you spray, you'll get a feel for how much material to lay down. Remember, you need wet, overlapping coats. The pressure, your gun, and the thickness of material will determine the speed of your spraying. With lacquers and shellac, you need to be careful of the over-spray landing on your freshly sprayed areas. This is where an exhaust fan is important. If you are not in a dust free booth, you will have problems with foreign matter falling on your freshly sprayed projects. You shoud be using a screen to place your objects on, such as chicken wire, to let the spray pass through and not bounce back while spraying doors, panels, and the like.

[Jim Becker]

Phil makes a good point... overspray/bounce could be causing some of the minor nibs you are experiencing. That can be either from spraying technique or spraying environment...or both.

[Matt Meiser]

I learned what is apparently a well known trick this weekend for those nibs. Use a folded (not crumpled) brown paper bag and rub down the piece after several hours. I was getting some of the roughness on the inside of the desk I was doing because spraying other areas resulted in overspray landing there. Or if I did that last, over spray got elsewhere. The brown paper bag tricked worked great.