Robert,

Again - this is invaluable advice and greatly appreciated.

" wrote:

On Jan 20, 7:04 pm, "doug" wrote:
Robert,

Thanks! for the excellent advice.

Glad to be of some help, Doug.

Appears the problem was self induced - really hate it when that happens.

Read on....

I understand to not apply heavy coats - just not sure if maintaining a wet
edge when spraying is considered a heavy application.

When you spray lacquer, you may need to spray more material than you
think to get a professional grade finish. Most solvent lacquer
recommended applications are in the 3 mil range wet, which will dry to
+/- 1 mil dry. It is so accepted, it's almost universal. If you
don't have a painter's mil gauge, try to spray the thickness of a
dollar bill. It's about right.

If you are spraying less, especially consider the low humidity, you
may starve the previous coats of the ability to resolvate (blend) into
the the new coat, as well as negate to the new coat's ability to
dissolve the fine lacquer dust overspray.

When spraying the lacquer, I placed a bright light so I could clearly see the reflection
off the wood's surface, and see whether the material was going on light or too heavy.
Luckily got no runs - may have been too light on a pass or two.

Low humidity down here (Houston) is not the norm - although the past several weeks we have
been getting regular cold fronts through that drop the humidity way down. 20% RH is
really rare.


There are no doubt degrees of wet edge - and will have to learn the best
application method in the school of hard knocks.

Thanks again for the benefit of your experiences.

Like I said earlier, I am glad to be of help. I have had to learn a
lot of this stuff the hard way, the expensive way, and the frustrating
way.

Once you really get in the middle of it, you realize the complexity of
it all and understand the finishing is a craft unto itself.

Anyway, good on 'ya for not giving up and getting back in there to fix
your minor (remember... everything is relative!) mistake.

Need to get this finished - and done right, best I can - it is part of a present for my
dad.


Check out this link for some good info. At the bottom third of the
page is a good, illustrated description of how to spray.

Note the illustration of keeping your wrist perpendicular to the
work. VERY important. No arcing, no other movement should be there;
your arm should look like it is going back and forth on a rail when
you spray.

I did move the can parallel to the work piece surface, as I watched the wet edge progress
- so remembered something from the past.

Results should be more rewarding next coat as mineral spirits will not be used for
cleaning.


It will also tell you to adjust the spray pressure. Obviously, you
can't do that with a rattle can. The way you adjust pressure from a
rattle can in regards to the disbursement of the material is to find
how far from the target you hold the can.
In this case, depending on the nozzle, it could be anywhere from 6" to
10", again, depending on the nozzle.

Practice your distance and pattern on a piece of finished cardboard.
You know, the shiny stuff with the color pictures on it like appliance
boxes. Don't bother practicing on a brown, cardboard box. It will
absorb your solvents so fast you will never get an accurate read on
your pattern.

Once again, good luck.

Hey... don't you owe us a picture from last time?

;^)

Robert

Can sure provide a picture - where should these be posted?

Any required limitations on file size?

Best Regards,

Doug