Laquers & Spraygun

I have had good luck with the deft brushing lacquer that I thin and spray. For small pieces I use an airbrush with small compressor or I apply with a brush.

Harbor Freight has an HVLP that uses the air from your compressor. Cost is low and a friend has used it with good success for model making to a very high level.

Brian

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Most standard compressorsd are't suitable for HVLP, due to their low volume. There are HVLP sprayers that can be driven by a standard compressor, but you may want to do some research to find the characteristics you'll need and which type will suit your needs. With a standard compressor and conventional spray gun, I've used 30-45 PSI with good results. I like to use automotive acrylic lacquer, and I thin it about 2:1 depending on original viscosity. At your paint store you can get a viscosity cup that will allow you to standardize the viscosity to allow consistent application. Most auto paint and auto parts stores will have some books for beginners. If you learn the basics for auto finishing, then wood should come pretty easy.

Ken Moon Webberville, TX

I've had good luck with gallon cans of any name brand laquer sold in your local hardware store - thin it with about equal parts of thinner, or a little more if it isn't spraying right. I use a crafstman siphon gun for spraying laquer on wood, I reserve my HVLP guns for automotive work - there is a huge price difference - a gallon of laquer for wood is $20 to $30, a gallon of automotive paint will be $150 to $400 depending on what additives and stuff go with it. The automotive laquer I'm vamiliar with (dupont Lucite) is more brittle than I'd like to use on wood (and it's expensive and I have to drive 250 miles RT to get any), the laquers sold for wood are a little more flexible and I would expect will hold up better on wood as it moves and breathes.

And, I use a "standard" compresor for my HVLP gun, but it's not one of those toy compressors that the big box hardware stores sell.

conventional

I sometimes use lacquer for turnings. I use a spray can, one can will do quite a few turnings. No gun to clean up, inexpensive for small uses. mike

Depends on whether you are in production or just occasional hobby stuff. I use "the Critter" at about 35#'s it does great. I sometimes hold on to about 10 items and spray them all at once. Using Deft lacquer and a small compressor it is just the thing. Oh cost about $39.00 at Amazon I think. Darryl

Whatever method of applying lacquer you go with, make sure you buy a high quality brand. The more expensive lacquers have much more solids content than the store brands. I discovered this for myself (after reading the advice of others) last fall when I bought a can of Behlens lacquer - the can was noticeably heavier than the Ace and Kryon products and the sprayed finish went on much more smoothly and built more rapidly

- lessening my fears of thin edges or wet sanding through at the edges.

I have tried several lacquers but find "Deft" lacquer to be the most forgiving. With other lacquers I had to fiddle around a lot more by adding additives (retardants, accelerators, flatteners, etc.). I also use an HVLP gun because of the very low over-spray and efficiency of medium coverage. As far as inexpensive, I can only advise you to buy the best you can afford, Harbor Freight definitely has inexpensive HVLP spray guns and from what I understand work fairly well. Don't buy cheap if you can help it, I compare a cheap gun to a cheap brush. If you wanted a real nice finish would you buy the cheapest brush you could find? Good luck in your selection........Ralph