mikhailgtrski Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 Hello all, I've come to a bit of a crossroad with my finish. So far I've dyed the top and back, sealed it with shellac, and sprayed 5 coats of rattlecan nitro. But over the weekend I decided to bite the bullet... so I went and bought myself a detail gun and compressor so I can do a proper spray job with Behlen's Qualalacq nitro. I'm quite pleased with the way the dye turned out (and I'm confident I could repeat the results). The faux binding looks pretty good and has a clean line, although I found when I scraped the top edge back that the dark dye in the figuring had soaked in quite deep, so it doesn't have that clean, white maple appearance on the top. Not necessarily bad, but it's a different look. The grain filling didn't work as well as expected and I didn't quite get the nice, mirror flat surface I wanted on the mahogany back (next time I'll ditch the Stewmac and go with paste filler or epoxy). I could fill the remaining pores with finish, but it might shrink back over time. I also wonder how the Qualalacq would perform if sprayed over the rattlecan clearcoat. Here's a current pic of the top (5 coats, scuff sanded): mahogany back progress link So, I need to decide whether to keep the finish I've got so far and keep building on it, or go back to bare wood and start over. Hmmm... What do you think? Thanks for your input, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 Is the qualalaq nitrocellulose? If it is, and the spray cans were nitro, I odn't see you having a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted May 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 Is the qualalaq nitrocellulose? If it is, and the spray cans were nitro, I odn't see you having a problem. Yes, it's Behlen's top-of-the-line nitro, supposed to provide a harder finish than your average nitro lacquer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 In that case, test it on scrap - spray over your old finish and see if it misbehaves at all. Try a light coat, and another sample with a *really* heavy coat. If the heavy coat doesn't make the old finish lift or ripple you should be pretty safe. Even so, it's worth keeping the first few overspray coats light so you minimise the risk of the solvents attacking your old coats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted May 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2006 Thanks, Setch. I tried it on scrap and it works great. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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