Problems using lacquer. Need some insight

[Alex Elias]

I've made some small items and I wanted to use lacquer to finish them. Here is the issue. I turned the box sanded to 2000 grit and coated with BLO. Then wipped the BLO out and brushed lacquer 2 or 3 times wipping off the excess every time, so the coats are not thick. Let it sit overnight and wet sand the next day starting at 600 to 800 grit. Right there when sanding 50/50 chances I get the finish to start smearing and creating dark stripes arround the box. If I move to the bauffing and do tripolly 99% sure either the finish smears or seems to create a coat of something I have no clue what it is and need to go back to the sanding.
I thought I was using a light touch both sanding and buffing. or do I need to let the lacquer cure for longer? Is tripolly to abrasive? I'm using a buffer whith a 6" wheel, can't tell the material of the wheel anyway any tips will be appreciated it.
Regards,
Alex

[Bill Bolen]

I kinda think the problem is with covering the still uncured BLO way to soon. I believe if you let the BLO set up (a day or three)and then did your lacquer you would be ok.
Bill

[Bernie Weishapl]

Bill is right. You are rushing things. I am by no means a expert but I have found that depending on temp, humidity, etc. it might take BLO 3 days to a week to cure sometimes longer. Then I use the rattle can deft lacquer for small items because I can get a light coat on. I generally put 3 to 5 light coats on every 30 minutes to a hour apart. I will let the lacquer cure for a week before I buff. Same goes for Poly. When you buff it has to be a light touch or you will burn thru the lacquer. Yes Tripoli and White Diamond are abrasives that will burn thru finishes if you have a heavy hand. You also need to use seperate wheels for each abrasive with white diamond being a flannel/cotton soft wheel. The Beall system I have uses 3 seperate wheels. The above has worked for me. Hope it helps.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Alex,

I often use BLO, and Deft brushing lacquer with good success. Here's how I do it....

1. I put a few drops of BLO on a dry paper towel and with the lathe running at a slow speed, I apply it to the turning.

2. With a folded clean paper towel, I friction the BLO to speed up it's drying . Often the project will get to hot to comfortably hold. That's good as it's the heat that's curing the BLO.

3. Using a brush or a folded paper towel I apply a coat of dewaxed shellac. I usually dip a portion of the folded paper towel into the shellac and then with the lathe running wipe it onto the project. (Cover your lathe with a clean paper towel to keep spray off the ways). Left the shellac dry for 90 seconds or so with the lathe spinning at a medium speed. Then with a clean folded paper towel I friction the shellac as I did the BLO. It won't hurt to repeat this process to insure you have a good barrier coat of dewaxed shellac between the BLO and the Deft brushing lacquer.

4. Then I brush on the lacquer; let it dry a minute or so with the lathe spinning and then I friction it with a folded paper towel.

I use this successfully on my bottlestoppers and other projects. It's my understanding that lacquer doesn't like to stick to BLO but will stick quite well to dewaxed shellac. I've used this procedure for over a year and had good luck with it.

Good luck!

[John Hart]

What is lacquer? (hic):o

[John Hart]

Oh...my only other input is that I gave up on BLO over a year and a half ago. I'm pretty impatient and developed the thought that the beauty of the wood was being somewhat lost in the amber of the oil. Plus, lacquer hates oil. If there's a little pocket where the BLO doesn't quite cure, it'll prevent the lacquer from getting it's best adhesion and get all goopy. Then you have to finish the whole thing over. So....I gave it up. Started sanding better and going for the straight lacquer treatment. Sometimes I'll seal the wood with a little clear shellac first if I want to pop the grain a little.

[Richard Madison]

Yeah, mostly what they said. I like the BLO on spalted hackberry to enhance the contrast a bit. Friction dry and let set up 2 days. Then lacquer-based sanding sealer, friction dried, being careful to leave no streaks. Set up overnight. Then spray lacquer and let set up 2 or 3 days before buffing. Set up time required varies considerably with temperature and humidity in your work area. Cool and humid takes longer; warm and dry goes faster.

[Greg Savage]

Try some M L Campbell catalyzed laquer aka Magna Laq. No BLO. No sanding sealer. If you have spray equipment and have the retarder dialed in correctly, you can spray it and have it finished, ready to handle in as little as 15 minutes per coat.

[Justin Bukoski]

Any oil finish should be coated with de-waxed shellac before applying lacquer. Wax and oil both will prevent the lacquer from adhering. Also, lacquer tends to move with heat so be careful when buffing.

[Alex Elias]

Thank you all guy for your Lacquer for dummies lesson. I just finish two minies and did not use BLO. Ilaid 4 layers of lacquer and will wait until Wednesday to buff delicately as a princess.
Again thanks for the tips, sure valuable.
Rgards,
Alex