"Maxprop" wrote: (clip)Can successive coats (of lacquer) be applied without
sanding? (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^
Lacquer dries by evaoration of the solvent, without any crosslinking of the
molecules. The dry film is soluble in lacquer thiner, so if another coat is
applied, the surface softens, and bonds well to the new coat. Sanding is
good only to smooth out the imperfections and remove particles of dust, but
does very little to improve the bond.

The other finish that behaves like this is shellac, BTW.