Another finishing question...

[Michael Costa]

I have wood I stained.

I then (using a brush) applied lacquer. How do you prevent the finish from wanting to move it's way to the underside of the piece? You cant flip the piece over even if on props. You ruin the side you just finished. Is there a way to do this without hearing the words spray it on?

[Jim Becker]

It's often difficult to apply finish with a brush and not have this happen simply because of the volume of finish that comes off the brush. Using finishes you can wipe on can help because the amount of finish transferred with each application is substantially less than gets loaded from a brush.

[Bennett Ostroff]

Agreed. You could still use a brush on the top/horizontal surface, but for any vertical surfaces I would wipe on the finish. I don't know how well lacquer will wipe on. Not sure what kind of project calls for brushing lacquer, but there are finishes that are just as/more durable than lacquer, easier to apply, and way less toxic.

[Justin Ludwig]

Tape off the surface you don’t want finish.

[Jim Becker]

Tape off the surface you don’t want finish.

You can do that, but one has to take great care relative to the edge because of how "sharp" it can get, even if the edge was eased prior to finishing. That will potentially require breaking the edge with very fine abrasive and then quickly and carefully wiping a tiny bit of finish on to clean it up.

[Michael Costa]

I want to finish the entire piece. But I can only finish what's facing up. Its Watco lacquer. Directions say apply with a good quality brush. Can this be wiped on?

[Justin Ludwig]

If you're relegated to using a brush, is it imperative that you use lacquer? There are many more durable finishes out there that have an "open time" conducive to brushing. Lacquer is not one of them - unless you buy something like Deft Brushing lacquer. I would add a retarder or flow enhancer to give it a longer open time. Don't add lacquer thinner as that will only make it "hotter". The cooler the room temp in which you are applying it, the better it will "lay down".

I'm in the humid hot midwest/south. I use https://www.mlcampbell.com/product/flow-enhancer-slow-reducer-1 for lacquer and conversion varnish, but I also spray my finishes.