Initial Prep And Painting Questions

[pokpok]

hi guys...just a few questions

if it helps im doing this to a JEM replica -from alder

1-how smooth (in terms of sand paper grit )should the raw wood be before priming? and how many coats of primer should be sprayed prior to the actual color?

2-i also seem to have a problem with sanding the lions claw trem route.. every grit i go through..the wood in that area seems to fray. what i mean is that it dosent sand flat ..the best way i could describe it that it has a slight furry texture. should i just continue sanding or use wood filler at this point? oh i plan on painting this another color from the body ....and in painting this would it be eaiser to brush it since its a smaller area? or just use a can and just mask everything else?

3-enamel vs laquer...i was wondering what the differences are. and from what i heard (i dont remember where) if i were to enamel base..and laquer clear coat it wouldnt work..

4- and for the actual paint color...is it reccomented to get a solid glossy black spray then clear coat? or a flat black spray then clearcoat?

thanks guys

[Doc]

I can tell you my approach. There are plenty of differing opinions.

Grit to use. Use the cabinet maker's rule of thumb. 150 is as far as you need to go before stain and sealer. If you go too fine you can interfere with bonding.

The number of coats of primer. There is no hard and fst rule. It depends on how porous the wood is and what kind of sealer and finish you are using. Post me the type of wood and the type of finish and I'll try to give you an answer. Alder will take a bunch, like three or four coats of sealer minimum.

As for your fuzzy problem, welcome to alder. It has a tendency to have these hot spots, It's not anything you did it just does this. That's one of the reasons that I will not build cabinets or furniture out of the stuff. A trick that sometimes works pretty well is to thin white glue down about 3:1 with water. This is called glue sizing and is heavily used by the furniture industry.. Paint your fuzzy area and let it dry for 24 hours. Sand it with 150. Repeat if needed.This will first harden the fibers then cut them off. This occasionally will cause you some trouble with some stains not penetrating as much as other areas but is a minor problem compared to the fuzzies.

Search the forum for info on lacquer vs enamel.

Quickly, lacquer cures by evaporation and is redissolvable with thinner even after it cures. This means that the following coats fuse to the last coat.

Enamel cures by chemical reaction with oxygen and each coat is independant. Enamels and polys have to be thoroughly scuff sanded to break the gloss and leave little tiny scratches for the next coat to bond to.

You sand lacquer to smooth it out and get rid of bug feet and dog hairs that fall in. Anyone who owns a Husky knows what I'm talking about. Lacquer dries faster, generally, and I think it is easier to buff out.

If you want my opinion I think that lacquer gives a better looking finish and with stuff available on line, like from Re-raanch and others, its worth develping the basic skills needed to work with it.

If you want to do a solid black it doesn't matter whether the color coat is flat or glossy except that generally flat is easier to work with.

I use an HVLP gun and tint my sanding sealer to the color that I want, then shoot it with a gazillion coats of gloss.

If you try to coat enamel with lacquer it either won't bond and the clear will eventually flake off or it will almost immediately react and turn into a really crinkly nasty mess. Use like with like.

Hope this helps.

[pokpok]

thanks alot very informative

now just 1 quick question.....do lacuqers need a special type of primer as well?

[pokpok]

oh and also...would lacquer dissolve or react with vinyl ? for example if i were to put some vinyl graphic on the base coat..then clear coat it with clear lacquer ...would anything happen?