Good suggestions by dhenryp.
I might add I got some very good results (on a small surface, preamp sides, ca. 2x14")) with somehow simpler steps. It was a wood surface and I uses only polyurethane clear coat (glossy). First coat with more thinner (20%) then 5-10% thinned as indicated on can. After 5-6 coats (sand lightly at #400 between coats) I sanded the surface down using #400 wet (add some dish detergent to the water for the wet sanding part) , and a glass block as a sanding block. I got that one at a picture framer's shop (had him break a piece of ca. 1/4" thickness for me to size).
The glass block method really does wonders. I had to sand really hard and quite a while but it was worth it. After 2 additional coats with only light sanding at #600 wett with glass block it now looks like coated with absolutely flat glass.
I always use brushes btw. At the appropriate lacquer viscosity the lines flow together. If they don't, you don't use enough thinner. If you get paint runs, you thin too muych and/or you apply too much material at one time. Follow can instructions religiously, and if that fails, experiment. Thinning is kind of an art.
I used roller brush for one project only, and each coat always ended up with a nice randomly-dimpled surface - nice for a wall but gross for lacquer
Good luck and happy sanding
MBK
I might add I got some very good results (on a small surface, preamp sides, ca. 2x14")) with somehow simpler steps. It was a wood surface and I uses only polyurethane clear coat (glossy). First coat with more thinner (20%) then 5-10% thinned as indicated on can. After 5-6 coats (sand lightly at #400 between coats) I sanded the surface down using #400 wet (add some dish detergent to the water for the wet sanding part) , and a glass block as a sanding block. I got that one at a picture framer's shop (had him break a piece of ca. 1/4" thickness for me to size).
The glass block method really does wonders. I had to sand really hard and quite a while but it was worth it. After 2 additional coats with only light sanding at #600 wett with glass block it now looks like coated with absolutely flat glass.
I always use brushes btw. At the appropriate lacquer viscosity the lines flow together. If they don't, you don't use enough thinner. If you get paint runs, you thin too muych and/or you apply too much material at one time. Follow can instructions religiously, and if that fails, experiment. Thinning is kind of an art.
I used roller brush for one project only, and each coat always ended up with a nice randomly-dimpled surface - nice for a wall but gross for lacquer
Good luck and happy sanding
MBK
Jesus every mistake you all told me not to make i am making .
You see, this is why there are 5 people building cars in IASCA events. No one person knows how to do all things great. Gonna have to sand the crap out of this and start again
Bill, dont hang yourself. I sprayed on the primers. Then tried the colours in plastic. Didnt do what i wanted so i bought a can of laquer and some brushes and some rollers. I see that THAT was also wrong. I am going back to spraying, it was closer to good then now.
.You see, this is why there are 5 people building cars in IASCA events. No one person knows how to do all things great. Gonna have to sand the crap out of this and start again
Bill, dont hang yourself. I sprayed on the primers. Then tried the colours in plastic. Didnt do what i wanted so i bought a can of laquer and some brushes and some rollers. I see that THAT was also wrong. I am going back to spraying, it was closer to good then now.
Just to update those of you Debby Travis's out there. I did the thinning and rolling, man what a diff. It settles alot compared to the last attempt. I cant even function the spray cans right so i stopped that to.
Heh if this doesnt look right i am going to the old car audio stand by.
Vinyl - Hot box - spray glue - exacto knife - cursing swearing and a few puches thrown at inanimate objects
Heh if this doesnt look right i am going to the old car audio stand by.
Vinyl - Hot box - spray glue - exacto knife - cursing swearing and a few puches thrown at inanimate objects
Old fashion way
I tried almost everything to get my boxes to look good (probably 50 or 60 pairs in the last 30 years or so): spray cans, brushes, rollers, poly, latex, varnish, you name it.
Then, I had an illumination: shellac!!
It's been out of fashion since the 1920s so it's a bit hard to get, but it's the most advance "obsolete" finishing material available.
First of all, it costs close to nothing. It comes in dry flakes (or powder). You mix the required quantity in denatured alcohol (and let it stand for 24 hours). It dries instantly, smells close to nothing, can be applied with a brush (and cleans with amonia) and gives a beautiful shine. This material is so fantastic, no wonder it's not sold anymore.
Now there is a process called "french polishing". It has nothing to do with polishing. Basically, it's wiped on shellac (any clean old cotton T shirt will do). To prevent the T shirt from sticking to the drying shellac (remember, it dries in seconds), a small quantity of oil (I use pure virgin olive oil) acts as a lubricant.
The beauty of french polishing is that you see a beautiful high gloss deep finish building before your eyes. FYI, french polishing was used to finish pianos and guitars and violins - nowadays, UV coating is used (because it can be sprayed on and dries with UV light). But if you have some time, try this technique as a final coating (the underlying color might be oil based).
I tried almost everything to get my boxes to look good (probably 50 or 60 pairs in the last 30 years or so): spray cans, brushes, rollers, poly, latex, varnish, you name it.
Then, I had an illumination: shellac!!
It's been out of fashion since the 1920s so it's a bit hard to get, but it's the most advance "obsolete" finishing material available.
First of all, it costs close to nothing. It comes in dry flakes (or powder). You mix the required quantity in denatured alcohol (and let it stand for 24 hours). It dries instantly, smells close to nothing, can be applied with a brush (and cleans with amonia) and gives a beautiful shine. This material is so fantastic, no wonder it's not sold anymore.
Now there is a process called "french polishing". It has nothing to do with polishing. Basically, it's wiped on shellac (any clean old cotton T shirt will do). To prevent the T shirt from sticking to the drying shellac (remember, it dries in seconds), a small quantity of oil (I use pure virgin olive oil) acts as a lubricant.
The beauty of french polishing is that you see a beautiful high gloss deep finish building before your eyes. FYI, french polishing was used to finish pianos and guitars and violins - nowadays, UV coating is used (because it can be sprayed on and dries with UV light). But if you have some time, try this technique as a final coating (the underlying color might be oil based).
Jennice said:
I don't get the idea of french polishing. Do you mean to wipe before the shellac dries or when it's totally dry? A little more details would be cool!
Ah ha. You want details? You got details.
http://www.milburnguitars.com/fpbannerframes.html
Bill's reference site is one of the most complete and accurate one.
I would use oil based underlying color.
And by the way, artists colors are much more better than regular oil paint (ok it takes a bit of time to get it right), being highly concentrated pigment, you can dilute it much more and get high coverage.
Also, you can add a touch (a few drops) of Japanese siccative agent, and the paint will dry very rapidly.
It can also be applied with a rag so you get a very high quality finish with absolutely no brush marks.
And since we are in the old world techniques section of DIY, Damar varnish is another fabulous finishing product and you can achieve spectacular results by mixing a very small amount of undelying oil-color with damar, in order to get an incredible color deepness (it gives the impression of a very thick finish, similar to chineese lacquer).
I would use oil based underlying color.
And by the way, artists colors are much more better than regular oil paint (ok it takes a bit of time to get it right), being highly concentrated pigment, you can dilute it much more and get high coverage.
Also, you can add a touch (a few drops) of Japanese siccative agent, and the paint will dry very rapidly.
It can also be applied with a rag so you get a very high quality finish with absolutely no brush marks.
And since we are in the old world techniques section of DIY, Damar varnish is another fabulous finishing product and you can achieve spectacular results by mixing a very small amount of undelying oil-color with damar, in order to get an incredible color deepness (it gives the impression of a very thick finish, similar to chineese lacquer).
I'm not sure how pigment would react with shellac. One thing for sure, pigment would have to be in powder form.
Shellac is made with alcohol, which is incompatible with both water and oil.
On the other hand, you can test it by preparing a small batch...
Shellac flakes comes in three "flavors": clear (or pale), orange and dark (or red). For frecnh polishing, the pale or clear one is usually used.
Shellac is made with alcohol, which is incompatible with both water and oil.
On the other hand, you can test it by preparing a small batch...
Shellac flakes comes in three "flavors": clear (or pale), orange and dark (or red). For frecnh polishing, the pale or clear one is usually used.
Madmike2 said:Orange sounds promising then i dont have to screw around and ruin something perfectly acceptable as it is. That would add some colour to this otherwise plain wood.
actually, wood can look awesome once its got some shellac or lacquer on it... my preamp faceplate looked pretty bland before i started working with it. it looked like boring old oak or something, but it came out awesome. proper finishing really brings out the beauty in wood.
Cal Weldon said:
Look, prepared shellac has to be ditched after 6 month because air humidity (as in water) gets into the preparation.
Oil is used to apply the stuff with a rag and won't interfere in any way with shellac, it just accumulate on top of the finish and then can be removed.
Incompatible does not mean it cannot coexist. Hey I'm incompatible with my mother in law...
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