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Orange Peel in Sprayed Lacquer

1032 Views 10 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  gdaveg, 
gdaveg
4
I have a new project that I am building in the week before I go home to Washington state. It is a curly maple box.

I am finishing it with Deft Semi-gloss spray lacquer, in the rattle can. The finish is now 3 coats and is showing signs of light orange peel. I have been successful using this same product on many projects prior with beautiful results.

It has been hot (90 - 100F) the last week, probably 92 outside at the time of finishing, 75 inside the shop. Very low humidity (5% to 20%).

Blue Wood Textile Rectangle Flooring


Wood Flooring Floor Rectangle Hardwood


I tried finishing a little heavier on coat 3 hoping for melt-in to level the bumps out.

Think I will sand with 320 on a cork block. I do want a semi-gloss finish since the curly maple looks great that way.

I sprayed in a vent hood which makes the drying even faster.

Any ideas short of sanding it all off and start over?

Thanks

Dave G

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Unknowncraftsman
What I remember working with Rattle can Deft is spray when it's cool in the morning around 70 is perfect. No more then 3 lite coats. I try to stay about 14 or less inches away one pass on each coat.
Keep the can vertical and the work vertical start from the top and work down.
Remember each coat one pass wet the wood evenly
Good Luck
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splintergroup
As cool as possible, extends the dry time and improves flow-out.
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R
It's not flowing out. I'm a fellow Tucsonan and always add retarder to my lacquer. Of course you can't do that with an aerosol, so the advice above to work in the coolest conditions is all you can do.

If you're serious about getting perfect results with lacquer, get some spray equipment, grab a gallon of Sher Wood or Mohawk lacquer, add about 10% either Sherwin Williams K27 retarder, or Mohawk No Blush. You can find the Mohawk products down at Hood Distribution. Most Sherwin Williams stores will have the lacquer in stock but you'll probably have to run down to the Speedway store for the retarder.

To fix what you have, all you need to do is sand it smooth. There's no need to sand down to the bare wood.
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Dark_Lightning
You can bring the surface level, just like polishing orange peel out of a vehicle's finish. I've done it myself. If you're sure you have good coverage, you can wet sand it with 1000 grit until the surface is flat. It'll take less time than you might think. You can probably wax it from there if you're looking for a low gloss finish.
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EricFai
When I have used lacquer, always brushed. And a light sanding between coats.
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Jim Jakosh
I find that orange peel builds higher with subsequent coats, so I always wet sand the finish smooth - finishing with 400 wet /dry paper with water. Then let it thoroughly dry and spray a nice even coat and let it level out…. so it can't be real hot or it will dry before leveling…...........Jim
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CaptainKlutz
+1 Spraying finishes in very early morning when it is cooler.
Arizona high temp and low humidity make spray finishes with rattle bombs a PITA. Reducing airflow to minimum can help slow solvent evaporation.

+1 Add retarder.
As another Arizona resident; I always add retarder to spray finishes, even in winter; due low humidity. I avoid any spraying when temp is above 90°, unless it is a slow drying enamel or WB. Limit on slow cure finishes is still ~100°, using 10% retarder and 10% slow thinner.

+1 Visit Hood Distribution in Tuscon.
Ask if you can get spray cans of a Mohawk Blender or No Blush aerosol. Deft is nitrocellulose lacquer and Mohawk sells similar products. Mohawk blender aerosols are mostly solvent for blending edges of spot repairs. No-Blush is 100% solvent.

A less than optimal solution for using rattle cans in low humidity is: spray a no-blush retarder on to the surface right after it's wet with lacquer. It is 100% solvent that melts the top layer of lacquer. It will reduce (and sometimes level out) orange peel. When using no-blush or retarder, be sure to give the surface plenty of dry time. It can take many hours for slowest solvents to evaporate.
If you are in a hurry, it helps to spray some scrap wood at same time as project, and test dryness on scrap wood. Will help to avoid leaving your fingerprints in a soft finish. DAMHIK

As always, be sure to test your Deft nitro lacquer with Mohawk blender on scraps to ensure it's compatible. Don't anticipate any problems, but it's been many years since I used the blender/no-blush rattle can trick.

Cheers!
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Dark_Lightning
I did not know about No-Blush in spray cans. Spraying straight lacquer thinner is something I have done when painting cars in the past. Just enough to get it to flow out without runs. I have both Binks and Devilbiss paint guns, though I use the HF GF HVLP guns now. Way better, with a lot less overspray.
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R
A less than optimal solution for using rattle cans in low humidity is: spray a no-blush retarder on to the surface right after it s wet with lacquer. It is 100% solvent that melts the top layer of lacquer. It will reduce (and sometimes level out) orange peel. When using no-blush or retarder, be sure to give the surface plenty of dry time. It can take many hours for slowest solvents to evaporate.

- CaptainKlutz
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That does sound like a good plan. It might be less than optimal, but it's about as good as you can do with aerosols.

And yes, if you have to stick with aerosols, Mohawk will outperform Deft all day.
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gdaveg
Folks,

Thanks for all the input. Left the spray lacquer in the shop, bumped the AC down to 74 and left for 3 hours. Was hotter than heck today so got no complaints from the other people.

Used a cork block with 200 sanded flat with only one cut through of the original finish, the new back side of the box.

Used 500 grit Abrasion disc on ROS and a quick pass or two.

Did three over-lapping passes to get whole side, rotated box and did other three sides same way. Looks good. Will stop for today and do same thing again tomorrow. Probably did too many coats in one day, need to learn patience.

I am hopeful that I can build the finish this way. Will get in tomorrow early say 8 am and try my luck.

I love having this community of people that have experienced the problem you are currently having. I did a search for this same thing on LJ and opened Flexner's book but the answers here are great.

I will add the Mohawk Blender or No Blush to my arsenal.
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