paint vs lacquer?

[ukalumni]

I'm doing the trim work in my new house, and I've been painting the trim with latex. The guy who made my cabinets also made some built-in bookshelves that he color matched with my trim paint. However, he finished them with lacquer rather than paint.

What is the benefit to that? I'm going to make several book cases and a window seat that I will probably finish in the same color, either with the paint or with lacquer, depending on what I find out here.

Why should I use lacquer? Why not?

Thanks,

--Michael

[David]

He probably sprayed them. Are you planning on spraying the lacquer if you decide not to use paint? Dave

[ukalumni]

Yes, I have an HVLP sprayer I'm planning to use.

Thanks,

--Michael

[David]

Lacquer will go on more evenly with an HVLP, unless you've got the correct (read: LARGE) tip and needle combo to handle latex. I've got a

4 stage unit with all the tips so I've got no problem with any type of finish I want to spray, but many owners of HVLP don't have the roughly .061 you need for latex.

Besides, lacquer is gonna look nicer! :) If you are gonna use solvent based, don't blow yourself up. I try to use waterbornes as much as possible; not that I don't use shellac a lot, too...

Dave

[ukalumni]

Thanks for the information.

--Michael

[Vic Baron]

Do you spray the shellac also?

Vic

[Wood Butcher]

It's been my experience that anything placed on a latex painted surface will eventually stick to it and will peel the latex off when you want to remove said item. Books, paper, wood, plastic, glass, and metal items all peel the latex off. Felt feet will rip in half and leave fuzzies in the latex. I now only use lacquer, polyurethane, and alkyd paint on shelf surfaces. Others will have different experiences but this has been true in both AZ and OR for me. And yes, I left plenty of time for the latex to cure. If it didn't cure in 3 months it's never going to cure.

Art

[JGS]

[Vic Baron]

Hmm. I usually pad it but spraying would probably be faster. Any caveats on spraying shellac with an HVLP gun?

Vic

[David]

yes, thin it!

dave

[Vic Baron]

Thinner than a 1lb cut?

Vic

[David]

that's right in the ballpark. I've had trouble with using a 2# cut when spraying, but then I'm not one to often spray shellac. I like applying it with a rag (like cooks, I don't measure--I just thin for consistency until I know it's where I want it) rather than spraying it. I use my HVLP mostly for applying WB finishes, although it's useful for just about any finish, including latex.

Dave

[Vic Baron]

I think I'll give it a try. Only drawback that I can see initially is the cleanup between coats. Shellac dries so fast it almost seems that you might get away with not cleaning until the final coat of the day. When padding shellac, I generally apply, go in for a cool one, come back and sand and apply again then back for a cool one, and so forth - until I run out of cool ones. Then I stop for the day and refill.:)

Vic

[David]

I cover a small container of shellac and the rag I apply it with, with a larger can inverted over the 2. Keeps everything from drying out for a few days, but I can see the "cut" of the shellac increase over time, from evaporation. A bit of alcohol (into the shellac--not me)takes care of that. I drink my beer only after I'm done in the shop for the day.

Were you talking about cleanup for spraying or for wiping?

Dave

[Swingman]

I spray shellac by preference unless the project is small. The more pertinent points of my experiences doing so:

With purchased shellac, a mix a 3# cut half and half with denatured alcohol is a good general starting point.

Best results comes from setting the gun to deliver plenty material and spraying a bit closer than you would normally think. Practice the delivery for that particular setting on a piece of scrap to get it right, then maintain that gun setting/spray distance throughout the spraying session.

Humidity and temperature can be factors when spraying, and varying the type of thinning medium (denatured alcohol/99% isopropyl, etc) can be used to mitigate same, but if you spray in a "normal" t/RH range, denatured alcohol works just fine.

DAGS for more information.

And don't us the thinner to cleanup. Equipment clean-up after spraying shellac is easy with household ammonia/warm water.

[Vic Baron]

For spraying. I fill the cup and spray a coat. With paint, I have at least several hours to overnight to wait to apply a second coat so I clean the gun. Next day, refill and go again. With the short time between coats with shellac, do you clean after the coat or somehow keep the gun clean and just spray the next coat as needed?

Thanx,

Vic

[David]

I leave whatever I'm shooting in the gun until I'm done. I wouldn't do that with a product that is catalyzed and will set hard in the absence of air. I've never had any issues with the interior of my gun getting coated with sprayed materials and I'm REAL fussy, believe me!

Dave