lacquer finishes

[jimmauldin]

I'm experimenting with lacquer finishes for my pens, I need advise. My question ... do you turners sand the final coat of lacquer?? I'm using rattle cans of Deft lacquer sanding sealer and lacquer. The last test, I used 2 coats of lacquer sanding sealer and sanded each dried coat with 240,320 then 400,600 paper; then 1 coat of lacquer and sanded this with 1200 paper, then finished the process with a light coat of paste wax. Turned out 'fair-good' but I've used friction wax finishes for so long, I'm not sure whether there is a better way to apply lacquer. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Firefyter-emt]

For me, I will seal with a CA slurry if needed followed with a 220, 320, 400 and the MM. Once done I mount the blanks on special "spray rods" which have small lengths of 7mm tube to space the blanks. I then apply close to 10 coats of lacquer without sanding inbetween. These are LIGHT coats as this is the best way to build lacquer. I will then let them sit for at least a week to cure. I then gently end-mill the blanks (now with my sander jig) and put them back on the lathe. I may start with 1000 wet if needed or MM (wet) thru all the grits. I then use a mild synthetic 3M compound followed by a 3M glaze. The glaze will not seal the finish like wax so the lacquer can still breathe and is less likly to dull out.

 

[jeffj13]

I follow a similar process to Lee. I sand the wood to 400 grit (no need to sand the wood farther than that). I then apply as many coats of lacquer as needed using an airbrush (I use light coats, so it is not unusual for me to apply 12 or more). I then let them cure for at least a week (two is better) and then run them through a wet sand of MM on the lathe at 500 rpm.

jeff

 

[rherrell]

I do the same as Lee and Jeff except I don't wet sand.Airbrush 10 coats,no sanding, then 600,800 and MM the rest.

 

[DKF]

I use the rattle cans as well....2 coats of sanding sealer, then one coat of gloss, let sit over night and then sand lightly with 600....then 6 - 10 coats of gloss with no sanding in between, using a rod like Lee. Let sit for at least a week... MM through the grits, TSW, and done...

 

[Rifleman1776]

To answer the question: Yes, I do with the final two grits of Micro Mesh, then buff with a hunk of wool blanket. Usually, then I put on a coat of caranuba based auto wax, really 'pops' the shine.

 

[Firefyter-emt]

By the way, these are my spray rods. If you make a kit that is bigger than the 7mm, just use the sleeves you made to use the pen mill to space the kit.