On 02/21/2012 09:59 AM, Steve Turner wrote:
On 02/21/2012 09:24 AM, Michael Joel wrote:
I have only tried to lacquer some metal once.

I first buffed the metal to polish it then wiped it down with
denatured alcohol to get any waxes/residue off. After the lacquer
(said it worked for metal) dried it was easy to get off. Any amount of
firm handling and it would start scratching right off.

Anyone used any lacquer to preserve a polished metal?

Mike

Forget what you've done with lacquer in the woodworking realm; if you
want to put lacquer on metal and have it last you need to think in terms
of automotive painting processes. It kinda depends on what kind of
"metal" we're talking about here, but in general a good primer is a
must, preferable an "etching" primer that (as I understand it) has some
amount of acid content gives it very strong adherence to the metal. And
these days there are far better paints available for metal than just
"lacquer" (presumably we're talking about good ol' nitrocellulose
lacquer here). Maybe "nailshooter" Robert will chime in here, but
barring that the simplest thing you could do to address the problem
would be to go down to your local automotive supply store and see what
they have available in rattle cans. Any of that is bound to be better
than just straight lacquer over metal.

Of course, I just realized you're probably talking about a clear coat
over metal, in which case most of what I just said is not really
applicable. :-) In this case, it probably is going to be pretty
dependant on what kind of metal you're going over. Aluminum, for
example, is notoriously difficult to get any kind of paint to stick to it.

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