Spraying WTF

[Eric Gourieux]

I'm planning on spraying Woodturner's finish tomorrow. Has anybody had any experience with this?

[Rick Markham]

I spray it regularly with an airbrush. I use a .5 mm nozzle, and 30 psi. It's a bit tricky to spray, and I had some frustrating experiences with it. Once you get the hang of it you can shoot a perfect glass coat finish pretty quickly and easily. There are a few things that I have noticed, that have helped me tremendously.

1. Keep the WTF in an airtight container. When I open a can I put it in two glass bottles. The can it comes in isn't the best container, eventually it won't seal very well and the solvent will evaporate. When the solvent evaporates, the finish doesn't cooperate like it should and needs to be discarded.

2. When you are spraying WTF there is a fine line between just enough, and too much. it takes some practice. It's better to err on the side of too little than too much. (both cause different problems.)

3. if you are patient enough you can build the finish by applying tons of very thin coats. (This is especially good when first covering a dyed piece, where too much finish will cause the dye to run) This stuff is somewhat "self leveling" as it continues to cure over about 2 days. If you spray a bunch of thin coats, they will all become one clear transparent glossy coat. (It takes discipline, but this is the best way to start with this stuff to avoid the frustration that I endured)

4. If you make a mistake, and get a run, or it is looking funky... leave it alone. Let it sit for a day or two, some "obvious" flaws will disappear<----This is the most important thing!!!! If you get antsy and try and correct the finish by traditional methods, you are actually making more work for yourself (again frustrating). Patience is a virtue in this regard. Anything that goes wrong IS FIXABLE. So no sweat, (it just means more work.) But if you leave it alone, it will be much easier to fix. If you need any help on how to fix a flaw with this stuff, I've probably encountered it at this point :o.

5. When finished spraying, immediately run an ample amount of water through your airbrush to fully flush the system out. This stuff dries so quickly that leaving it for more than a couple minutes might result in a clogged nozzle. Nothing is more frustrating than getting halfway through spraying a piece and have the airbrush sputter, spit then quit. Keeping a second bottle (I have a siphon feed) of warm water to use right away prevents this from happening.

I hope this helps :D

All in all WTF is great stuff in my opinion, it has taken me quite a few tries to perfect my technique, but now a glass like finish can be easily achieved in several hours.

[Jim Burr]

Cool tips Rick! One question divided up...do you spray on the lathe while running, mounted on the lathe and turn by hand, or off the lathe all together?

[Bernie Weishapl]

Rick pretty much hit dead on the same way I pretty much do it. I do it off the lathe on a lazy susan.

[Rick Markham]

I do mine on the lathe spinning. if it is a a smaller diameter piece (less than 5" in diameter) I'll have it rotating at 233rpms, I spray at about 6" with the button pulled all the way back (double action airbrush wide open).

The trick that I have learned is to watch the glare on the piece when the surface goes from looking like thousands of tiny drops to wet. It's the only way to tell when it's just right with the lathe spinning. I am usually looking at the surface under the front half of my spray, so by the time the visible glare reaches the center of spray it appears to be a smooth coat, so essentially the final back half of the spray will finish the needed extra bit. Too much is a bad thing, once you get a "feel" for it , it's about a smooth fluid even movement following the curve of the piece.

After that I will back the lathe down to 61 rpm's and allow the coat to set up. If I have built up several of these coats, I will allow it to cure for a couple of hours. I have personally found while I could do the entire process in a few hours, I actually get a better finish with far less work by allowing a several hour curing time between every 3 or so coats.

Sealing with shellac also seems to help the pore filling aspect of the process in more open grain woods, but I've been using straight WTF with no shellac sealer for several pieces, and they come out wonderfully clear and perfect. It's great stuff, don't let it frustrate you. If you start to get frustrated let it be for the night, and come back to it, It will work out better, Trust me :D

[Paul Engle]

I found over the last 6 years , no matter what type of finish I used I always put it on spinning. I have air brushed , used wipe on poly water and solvent based at < 50 rpm , sprayed lacquer and brushed lacquer and it all seems to work so much better and then let it continue to spin untill it is tack free, take if off the lathe but leaving it in the chuck if it is chucked up and let it cure for 72 hrs . Of course I have a special set up but none the less , with VSD and speed control DC mtr , and Reeves drives , one could develop a knack for getting that " glass " finish, first time , every time...
Oh and Hi y'all , I been gone a few years but am now able to spin again... :)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Glad to see you posting again Paul!

[Rick Markham]

Welcome back Paul! I prefer to finish on the lathe. Show us a pick of your special set up please :D I've been contemplating engineering a finishing station, I just haven't ironed out all of the details yet :) I'm always interested to see what other folks solutions are.

[Jon Prouty]

For you all who finish on the lathe, what do you do about the part that will be parted off? I have tried everything I can think of and a modified jam chuck seems to work the best for me. I guess I could just start putting everything on steeeks but that is not always practical. I'm thinking of a SW style hollow form for instance.

Thanks
Jon

[Rick Markham]

Jon, I finish with the tenon turned off, I use the reverse chucky, to hold the piece and leave a tiny nub for the tailstock to hold the piece. After the piece is finished I carve the nub off by hand, sand, sign and seal :) It works great for me, as I can work several pieces simultaneously. So far it has worked great for at least 10 pieces I've made.

[Eric Gourieux]

Thanks, guys, for your help and tips. I gave it a whirl tonight with my cheap-o Harbor Freight HVLP sprayer. Tried low volume, fine mist at 30 lbs pressure. It is walnut crotch with no other finish and came out with a lot of little droplets visible and some runs. Any suggestions?

239505This is a picture of the rim of a platter

[Rick Markham]

I'm not savy with HVLP, as I don't have one. It looks like it's spraying too big of drops to me, not atomizing the finish. If it's orange peel looking it means you are too close to the piece. Hopefully someone who is more knowledgeable with using an HVLP system can chime in. Let it sit overnight and a sanding you go... Once you get the hang of it the stuff it's great, until then it's very frustrating.

[Jim Burr]

What is the preferred of cleaning an airbrush after usingWTF? Looks like the purchase of the stuff is inevitable!

[Rick Markham]

Jim, I just keep a second airbrush bottle full of warm water and run plenty of it through the airbrush immediately after I spray. After I finish a piece I will break the airbrush down and clean everything. It's worked great for me so far.

[Glenn Barber]

Rick- Thanks for the gr8 tips on Abing the WTF!!! Mini-tutorial for sure.
Question for you: You ever used one those "ultrasonic cleaners" (or know anyone who has) to clean ABs? I have a couple of old Badger Anthems that are pretty dried from a couple of years storage.....real spitters, if you get my drift. I also purchased a couple of Peak X-5s that I have yet to use. Any knowledge/tips on these?

Thanks,
Glenn

[Paul Engle]

If you can follow this link , there is a tutorial ( type in Paul Engle on google ) on how I set up this finishing station which became adapted to my 1236. Since this I have added a lead screw and cross slide to the 1236 to do ornimental turnings. The finishing process includes sanding each application and wiping clean with paint thinner moisten clean rag. Most of the time I just use a 3 inch x 1 inch wide piece of paint brush type foam, run the motor as slow as it will go with out stalling and " paint" it on , let it turn for 30 minutes or until it sets enuf to not run and let cure good and hard for a couple of day - depending on temp and humidity. I am still looking for my web site since Verizon changed hands here in No Idaho and so far cannot find it and Frontier was no help .... I will keep looking in SCM archive for the post i did some time back and try to find the site addy...
Paul
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?55646-DC-motor-gloat-oh-baby-is-this-sweet

[Jim Burr]

Just caught a good vid on Youtube with a guy AB'ing a spindle on a Delta. I'd recommend covering the ways...but it shows exactly what Rick was talking about...under GF woodturners finish for those that want a peak.

[Rick Markham]

Paul, thanks for posting that. I think I may set up something very similar to that. Now you've made me want to see the cross slide set up you've made... that may be a whole other thread though. (I've been contemplating building a rose engine lathe too LOL)

Glenn, I personally haven't had to use an ultrasonic cleaner on mine. I don't see why it wouldn't work. If they are really gunked up, it's nice to have an old airbrush needle (one that you've buggered the tip up because you weren't paying attention :o) I use it to poke out the nozzle, and the tips. I've got Iwata airbrushes and don't have any experience with any others. I'd assume they are largely all the same, take it apart and soak the nozzle, needle and the tips in a solvent for awhile. (Might take a few tries of different solvents depending on what was last sprayed through it.) then poke all the parts out. (don't use a good airbrush needle to do that, don't want to ruin one)

If you have an ultra sonic cleaner give it a go, it certainly isn't going to hurt. (if you are worried about putting solvent in your ultrasonic cleaner, for small parts you can usually just put the solvent and parts in a glass jar, and set that inside the ultrasonic cleaner full of water.)

[Bernie Weishapl]

I use a spray booth I got that is 22" W X 20" deep X 16" high to spray off the lathe. I have it routed thru a dryer vent to the outside. Works pretty well with the lazy susan when spraying. I only use it for spraying water based finishes.

[Eric Gourieux]

Bernie,
Any ideas on why I'm getting the orange peel?