Lacquer Friction Polish

[mrcook4570]

I made some lacquer friction polish by using 1 part lacquer, 1 part lacquer thinner, and 1 part BLO (recipe from Russ's site). Is is supposed to clump when mixed?

 

[DCBluesman]

The lacquer friction polish should not clump. That being said, mixing water-borne (water-based) lacquer with solvent-borne (solvent-based) thinner is asking for this type of problem. Also, mixing brands of lacquer and thinner can cause clumping...not always, but on occasion.

 

[mrcook4570]

I used Deft gloss lacquer and Sunnyside thinner. Sunnyside is the only brand of thinner carried locally.

 

[mrcook4570]

OK, I did some experimenting. The clumping is a result of the addition of BLO to Deft. No matter how much thinner I added, it would not dissolve. However, one of the ingredients of the thinner is acetone. So, I mixed up another batch - equal parts BLO, Deft, and acetone (no thinner). All clumps dissolved. I applied it to a pen - not sure that I like it.

But, any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[melogic]

Stan,
Do you have a good picture of the pen? I have been wanting to try a laquer friction polish as well. Let me know, if you don't mind, if you find something you like. I will do the same. I am going to keep experimenting as well.

 

[Mudder]

Originally posted by mrcook4570
<br />OK, I did some experimenting. The clumping is a result of the addition of BLO to Deft. No matter how much thinner I added, it would not dissolve. However, one of the ingredients of the thinner is acetone. So, I mixed up another batch - equal parts BLO, Deft, and acetone (no thinner). All clumps dissolved. I applied it to a pen - not sure that I like it.

But, any thoughts or suggestions?

I think the acetone is defeating the purpose here. Acetone and Lacquer don't mix too well. Have you tried mixing the BLO and thinner first, shaking it well and then add the Lacquer. When I mix up my concoctions, that’s how I do it and never had the stuff clump.

Another idea comes to mind. Is it really cold where you are mixing it up? I’ve found that in the winter where my shop gets down to 40 degrees I have to mix that stuff in the basement where it is warmer.

 

[mrcook4570]

I did the mixing inside as well, after everything had spent the night inside, so temp was room temp. I will try mixing BLO and thinner first and see what happens.

 

[mrcook4570]

Finally got around to experimenting more with mixind up this concoction. Still no luck. I've tried several different brands of thinner and BLO. I've tried all six different orders for mixing. The result is the same every time - a big clump of slime in the bottom.

 

[alamocdc]

Stan, the BLO will settle to the bottom rather quickly so it's important to shake it quite vigorously before you use it. You'll need to shake it again with each application, even if it's only been a few minutes. I tried this some months back with mixed results. Someone posted a modification to the recipe (Lou I think) a while back and said it worked better. If I find it, I'll post the link to it.

 

[Randy_]

If it is Russ' recipe, why don't you email him[?]