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Hi all

I have been having a few lessons from a local furniture maker trying to get my finishing really up to Standard.

He showed me a technique where he sprays the Shellac, he uses a pre mixed product, but I checked and it is not dewaxed. I usually make up my own from flakes, but was not sure on the cut I should be using for spraying.

Any one got an idea ?


Many Thanks Russell

If you want a premixed 100% wax free buy Zinsser's Bull's Eye Seal Coat. Be Sure to get The Seal Coat and not the Sanding Sealer. The Seal Coat is 100% wax free pure shellac 3# cut, the Sanding Sealer is not. You would not have any issues using your own cut shellac in a sprayer. I would screen it, but I screen any thing I spray.

If you already are mixing your own why not use that. I think the question is what cut to use for spraying which I can't answer for you unfortunately.

IMO 2# is a good cut for spraying as a finish film. I use a 1.5# cut when I seal prior to spraying nitro or KTM9

I wonder why more people don't spray shellac. One of the hazards of wiping on a first coat is the real possibility of pulling color from one part of the guitar to another. White prufling lines can get darkened, tops can get a slight smear from wood dyes in the darker woods. If you spray lightly you can seal all that stuff in place.

John I think it is be cause the flash off time is so short if you leave you gun for an hour it is gummed up a bit. To me it has never been an issue. I clean right after evey use.

I've sprayed shellac very successfully in the respect that it kept color from bleeding from cocobolo to maple purflings. Unfortunately, I sprayed ktm9 over that, and had some serious adhesion issues. You have to sand back the shellac to around 1200 grit or so wet-sand so that the ktm9 will get a chemical bond with the shellac.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Don,
Dont you mean mechanical bond?

When this guy was demonstarting to me, he applied two light coats over a period of about 30-40 Minutes and then flushed out the gun.

The only concern I had was how flammable is the vapour ? I have extraction but it is not up to flammable standards, so I was wondering if I need to change this ?

Oops....yes Brad, I meant mechanical bond.
Sorry, brain skipped the groove.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Don,
My brain skips whole sides!!

Michael,
What do you mean when you say you "screen" anything you spray?

[QUOTE=MichaelP] John I think it is be cause the flash off time is so short if you leave you gun for an hour it is gummed up a bit. To me it has never been an issue. I clean right after evey use.[/QUOTE]

Michael are you spraying with HVLP or high Pressure? Also please give a detail of how you clean your gun after spraying Shellac. TIA

_________________
Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Isn't anyone using Target Coatings waterborne shellac? Great stuff, dewaxed, sprays great, soap and water cleanup.

_________________
Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

Hp touch-up gun.

Clean-up
spray 3 oz pure DA @ 30psi
remove needel,nozzel and spring: soak in Da for 10 min
Reassembel

I guess strain is a better term, to remove any undisolved particals

I spray shellac at about a 1-1/2# cut. There is no cleanup problem if you
shoot some alcohol through the gun right afterward. For good measure I
dip the nozzle in lacquer thinner and then blow it out, but that's probably
overkill. I either mix from flake or use the light blonde dewaxed stuff
made with anhydrous alcohol from Shellac.com.

The question about the waterborne is what the added borax does to the
longevity of the film. I don't want to wait 10 years to find out it degrades.

_________________
Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.