"Ron" wrote in message
m...
I just read through a search on Google and found some interesting
stuff but no real source for black laquer. Can I buy straight black
laquer or do I have to mix clear with a pigment or dye? I'm looking to
build a case for video tapes and hope to use my new HVLP sprayer to
put on the finish. Recommendations for this would be helpful as well
since I've never ised laquer or the HVLP gun.

Thanks in advance
Ron

Buy straight black automotive lacquer. Buy gray auto primer and a gallon of
lacquer thinner. Buy a tube of spot putty. It is thick primer in a
toothpaste tube. It is nice to have some automotive paint fish eye remover.
It comes in a can like lighter fluid or a bottle like contact lens cleaner.
Sand your work first. If you don't have a DA air sander, you can use an
electric orbital. Use a 320 grit if the wood is already real smooth. Prime
with the gray lacquer. You can start with a 20% paint 80% thinner ratio. It
helps to strain the primer into the gun cup through a regular paper
strainer. If the primer is not filling the sandpaper scratches and seems too
thin, add a little more primer up to 30%. You can return unused primer to
the can. Prime the **** out of the work and don't worry about runs, you're
learning and it won't matter with primer. Let the primer harden (dry) well.
Lacquer shrinks when it hardens. In AZ it will dry in 5-10 minutes. On the
east coast it may be a half hour. Don't worry about blush in the primer
coats, but if you get blush with the primer, you are definitely going to get
it with the black paint. It's a hint to wait for a dryer day, drain the
compressor, etc,
Never paint lacquer under 55 degrees. The hotter the better. The dryer the
air, the better. The more expensive (higher grade) the thinner, the less
chance of blush. Retarder can be purchased and used in the thinner and paint
mixture in the cup. A shot of retarder in the cup usually does the trick,
but makes the paint slower to dry, and can cause runs if you stand on the
gun too much. You should be shooting at about 35 lbs or less pressure with
lacquer.
Once the primer dries, block sand it with 400. Blow off the work with air.
If you see scratches that weren't filled, use a little rubber squeegee like
for putting on window tint, and squeegee some body putty over the
imperfections. After the putty dries, block sand it and primer again. You
can repeat this process of priming and sanding until your work is as smooth
as plexiglass and feels like it when you touch it.
Blow dust off, and make sure your area is clean. Tack it off with a tack
rag. It will be smooooth.
Now mix your black lacquer and thinner and spray double pass over the work.
Don't blow paint on dry. make sure your overlapping coats are wet, as with a
spray can.
Look for imperfections. It's still timely for putty or sanding, you simply
go back to the priming process when it all dries.
If all is well, wait for the lacquer to dry a little, say 10 minutes or more
, and do another pass. In Phoenix, wait 3 minutes. Patience in applying the
lacquer will put you ahead of the others in skill. You need about 3 double
passes to cover. Because you may not hold the gun even at first, you may
want to make about 5 double passes or so to cover adequately. If you see
blush on any pass, stop immediately and add retarder to the cupabout an
ounce per full cup.. Make a fast pass over your work with the retarder, and
watch it for a few minutes to see if it is getting rid of the white. If not
add another shot of retarder to the cup and after a few minutes, do a fast
single pass again. If the blush stays, stop working and dump the retarded
paint into a clean separate container and wait until tomorrow.
Now, the next day, check to see if the retarder worked. If it did (probably)
lightly block the work with 400 grit and put on your remaining coats without
retarders. If you get blush, see above.
If the retarder didn't work overnight, block it out with 400 grit and paint
again and use the retarder mix you saved. Always be less agressive painting
with retarder mixed in because it slows drying time dramatically, to allow
the moisture to rise out of the paint.
Now, if you are painting and the surface is contaminated because of silicone
or oil in the air or finger oil on the primer, etc, you will see little
voids the size of pinheads where the paint won't stick. You may also see
them grow larger into chicken pox. Don't panic. Add a squirt or two of fish
eye remover to the cup and continue spraying. Fish eye remover works in just
about all paints, enamel and lacquer and a little bottle or can will last
you a year or more. The fish eye remover makes the paint flow more and
increases the chance of runs, so don't stand on the gun. Allow a couple
minutes more drying time between coats. I helps make a nice finish though.
If after 3 more double passes, you can still see the fish eyes in your work,
let it dry and wait until the next day. discard the paint with the fisheye
remover, or save it in a separate can.Now after waiting a day,. block the
work with 400 grit and paint again with a clean mix in the cup.Lacquer is
very forgiving, and you can rework it forever. When you have a nice coat on
your work, let the lacquer harden a day or two, or more. Then 1000 grit the
work (you can wet sand it), and machine or had buff it. If you find an
imperfection while using 1000 grit, go back to 400 or the imperfection area,
and shoot another coat. wait a day, and block it with 1000 grit and buff.
Your work will look like black chrome. Remember. Henry Ford's original
favorite color, black was brush painted lacquer, which was then sanded and
buffed to a mirror shine.