LAQUER FINISHING

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OSCAR15

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I wish to try laquer finishes (DEFT LAQUER). Does anyone have any suggestions? Does this finish hold well on an oily wood, such as cocobolo? A friend suggested using 0000 steel wool and DNA in between coats. While I have used laquer extensively on woodworking projects, I have never applied it to turned pens. Is it best applied with lathe turning or stationary? How many coats do you recommend?
Any suggestions you may have will be greatly appreciated...Thanks.....OSCAR
 
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Oscar, I use Deft all the time, but I dip mine. And I don't use anything between coats.

This link is my description:
http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11157
 
Oscar,

I would not use steel wool for anything. If you do not get it all cleaned off the blank it will rust under some finishes.

Here is the Deft method I use for what it is worth. Everyone will have their own way of doing things and you may adopt parts of what everyone else does and come up with your own.

1) I sand on the lowest speed from 150 through 12,000 micromesh. I wipe with a cloth and sometimes Laq thinner or mineral spirits between grits.

2) If it is an open grain wood I then use 1 coat of sanding sealer. (I do not always want the grain filled. I like a little bit of grain showing) Let the sanding sealer dry for at least 3 hours.

3) Once the sanding sealer is dry even it out by sanding from 3200mm to 12000mm and then wipe the blank down.

4) I spray the Deft on the blanks while they are still on the mandrel and lathe. Spray the blank, rotate the hand wheel and spray again repeat until the blank is covered. I have found that thin coats work best. If you miss a spot or it does not look like you got enough on the blank don't worry, you will get it on the next coat. If you try to coat the spot you missed you may get runs or an extra thick spot.

5) Once the blank is coated I turn the hand wheel slowly until the thinner flashes off (about 1-2 minutes). Once the thinner has flashed off you can turn on the lathe at its slowest speed to help it dry faster or just let it dry for a few hours.

6) Once the blank has dried for an hour or two lightly sand from 3200mm to 12000mm wipe the blank with a cloth and repeat step 5. I will put on 3 coats this way and then let it dry for 24 hrs.

7) After 24 hours I will repeat step 5 one or two more times depending on how the blank is looking. I then take the blanks to the warmest part of my house and let them sit for a 5-7 days or until I can no longer smell the laq on the blanks.

8) Put the blanks back on the lathe and sand from 3200mm - 12000mm. This will even everything out and give it a nice gloss finish. I then put on two coats of TSW (Trade Secrets for Wood. Thanks Lou!) followed by two coats of Ren wax.

It sounds like a lot but it goes fast. The hardest part is being patient during the time that the laq is curing. You can get it all buffed out sooner but it has cause me some problems in the past. I now wait until it is cured before I buff it out.

Good luck!

Ryan
 
Ryan,
I have been using Ren Wax for a month or so and it seems like a pretty good product. I know people here have been touting TSW. My first question is why top off the TSW with Ren Wax and second question, what is the difference in the waxes?
Thanks Gary
 
Originally posted by GBusardo
<br />Ryan,
I have been using Ren Wax for a month or so and it seems like a pretty good product. I know people here have been touting TSW. My first question is why top off the TSW with Ren Wax and second question, what is the difference in the waxes?
Thanks Gary
Click to expand...

You do not need to top off with Ren wax, the TSW is great by itself.

If we can get Lou to chime in he can tell you the diff in the 2. They are very different.

Do a search on TSW and you will probably find where he has discussed this in the past.

Ryan
 
Originally posted by GregMuller
<br />Ryan,
What type or brand name of sanding sealer do you use.
Click to expand...

I use the deft sanding sealer, but I am sure that any of them work. Once I am out of it I am not going to buy any more. I will just put on an extra coat of laq. This will also help keep the finish a little more clear.

Ryan
 
Originally posted by jdavis
<br />We dip Deft all the time. It wears well. Sand lightly before the final dip.
Click to expand...
Me too, Jim, and I love it. The only thing I don't like is the cure time, but I can't rush my flatwork, so why should pens be any different. [;)]
 
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