polishing lacquer

[Pierre Boucher]

Hey folks,

Can lacquer be polished in any way to remove some streaking that occurred when I sprayed.. My lack of experience with HVLP and spraying overall produced a pretty nice finish but I still see some streaking from overspray or humidity or whatever..

Any advice is appreciated

cheers,

[MikeG]

Yes, lacquer can be and frequently is rubbed out.

Shave, do not sand, any runs or sags off with a sharp chisel or cabinet scraper.

Sand lightly with 220 grit paper till you have an even scratch pattern.

Work through 00, 000, 0000 steel wool, getting an even scratch pattern with each before moving on.

Finish with automotive rubbing then polishing compound.

Stop at any point where you have the gloss level you want.

Note, that works for me. There are probably as many ways to do it as there are woodworkers. Any method that follows the successive grits approach is not going to be wrong.

[Ba r r y]

You could:

• Simply spray more lacquer, melting the new coat into the previous.

• Spray "blush remover" to eliminate the streaks. Sometimes straight thinner or very thin lacquer can also accomplish the same thing.

• Rub the piece out with 0000 steel wool and "Wool Lube" or non-spray Murphy's Oil Soap, if you've got enough build not to rub through the finish. This is also a great way to rub a gloss lacquer down to a lower sheen. Don't forget that the wool fibers go perpendicular to the rubbing direction while you rub.

As always, practice on scrap or a hidden area! If the lacquer is over a stain, be extra careful on edges. Lacquer is super forgiving, mistakes are usually easy to correct. Spray Murphy's is a different formula than the squeeze bottle, don't use it as a lube.

Barry