Blushing On Lacquer Finish
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- Опубліковано 16 вер 2023
- Bethany from Madeline Jean Antiques & Restoration wrestles with the challenges of blushing on her lacquer finish. Let's see if the product Mohawk No Blushing Plus works to get rid of this common problem on lacquer finishes.
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You've helped me in the past and i wish i could help, but your knowledge is way more than mine.
That's so frustrating, but you've got this girl! ❤
Bethany, I think it's so cool that you're experimenting with new finishes. Woodfinishing is all about experimenting. Don't give up, and keep these great videos coming!
Yes! Thank you! It can frustrating and expensive to try new products but I'm learning what works and what doesn't for me. That's invaluable.
Props for being humble about your mistakes and by requesting input. I'm certain your channel is a fantastic resource for so many. Often, taking chances on products we first carefully research - well, it's how we discover things that up our refinishing chops. I'll often do searches that include the term "discussion forum" and then the product or issue, to find those in the know about it. And sometimes products that are slower, but less problematic, are why they are known to be tried and true. However, there are often nuances to the technique of application that are the actual issue. For me, it's ultimately about the end results and look. But for frequent flippers - or those who do this for a living - time is money! I love the General Finishes topcoats because I KNOW the end results and they look very nice. For me, at this point, it's probably not the gee-whiz product I need, but rather MUCH more patience.
When using Mohawk products always use the less is more way of applying and watching this I would not have used the waterborne prefect blend after the lacquer pre cat top coat. I also believe there was contamination on the drawer front finish. Just came across your channel love your work.
Lacquer retarders are typically used in combination with a coat of lacquer to slow down the curing time. There are several different causes for what is referred to as "blush" retarder helps when the finish is blushing because its curing too fast. A light sanding with 500 grit followed by a fresh coat of lacquer will remove he blush and adding the retarder helps prevent the new finish from doing the same thing as the old one. If your blush was caused by moisture, the retarder wont help. (my dad ran a refinishing business for 30 years, and specialized in antiques. i don't know 20% of what he did, but i picked up a few things along the way, and yes Mohawk makes fantastic products when used correctly)
I watched a video of someone using a heat gun keeping it about 3” away from the piece and moving it continually and it removed all the blushing.
I'm going through the same exact thing myself, I will share my thoughts on this matter. I've got two guitars with lacquer finishes that need the nitro blushing removed badly, and for that matter they need a good bit of the finish removed in general, as the finishes are much too thick. VERY thick. And after recalling every guitar I've seen with this blushing issue, every single one of them had thicker than normal lacquer finishes. Which makes me think that possibly the thicker viscosity of the resulting lacquer coat that is typically applied (and recommended by the manufacturer), in combination with over application, in combo with reduced drying times due to guitar manufacturers production demands, etc etc, all has resulted in guitar owners like myself having to repair a finish that should not of been rushed and poorly applied in the first place.
And rushing through a finish repair is just going to result in the same problems that resulted by rushing through the initial finish. I don't think blushing is lacquers fault really, I think it's how we are using it. It's good stuff, but for the best results, the coats need to be much thinner than what is recommended typically, drying time needs to be longer than recommended, and retarder should be used to some degree through out the entire finishing. (Just my opinion). That sure seems to be the reality though. It's not poly, it's not a quick easy oil finish.
Consider: Shellac dries extremely fast. Or so you think at first, because the outside feels dry moments after a coat is applied. But problems can result while using shellac if applying too thick. What happens is because it dries so fast, the outer surface of the coat dries, and then the inside can't dry. The solvent has NO WHERE to go, it's stuck. You were saying how dry the air was when you were finishing, purposely to avoid blushing? Well, I bet the outside of the finish dried extremely fast due to the dry air, which ironically had something to do with the trapped moisture/solvent/whatever that cloudiness actually is underneath trapped in the finish...
SO.. the solution: 1): extend the drying time of the lacquer, it's drying way too fast to let moisture out, period. 2): use much thinner coats, in any way possible. 3): double or triple your drying time between coats. it's gotta dry much slower. This is easy to fix with shellac, you just add more denatured alcohol, and the shellac dries slower, and you use thinner coats by using very thinned out shellac, and applying by hand. Many many super thin coats...
Id say it's reasonable to assume that what works for shellac will work for lacquer as well. Industry and companies that have profits in mind and focus on mass production are the ones that want to reinvent the wheel here. As woodworkers, I say just do whats been working for the last 100 years or so.
there might be furniture polish on there causing fisheye. Fisheye is a separate issue.
Automotive wax and grease remover would have taken the furniture polish off. At least you have fixed the blush. You can overspray the fisheye and sand and buff
My understanding is blush can be either humidity/ not fully dried coats or a contaminant from on or within the wood. I’ve seen refinishers sand back the resulting fisheye until it is gone. Then they apply one more light coat of lacquer.
Good to know! I was thinking maybe I should have applied a dewaxed shellac BEFORE applying any lacquer. I do this when applying an oil based poly. Seal in any contaminants before applying my topcoat.
To be clear, fisheyes and blushing are two entirely different conditions or problems. Both can happen at the same time. Blushing is trapped moisture in the lacquer. Fisheyes are due to surface contaminations interfering with one coat of lacquer chemically melting into prior coats. The contamination can be oil, including finger oils, wax, silicone agents, etc. Tiny bits of dust can cause similar pinhole-sized blemishes as well.
I recommend handling piecing during the prep and lacquer finishing workflow with soft white cotton photo gloves to avoid this problem. Also, if you shoot lacquer with a spray gun system rather than rattle cans you can use an additive called fish eye flowout. Mohawk also makes this additive.
I need help! I can’t laquer at all. And I’m in a windowless room
Yeah you definitely need proper ventilation when working with lacquer indoors. It's a must have.
I finish woodworking items with lacquer and it dries faster but you still need cure time in between coats. Yes it seams like it dries faster but still has to cure. So it is faster than poly but not by much. I like the high gloss look of lacquer. I would of sanded it down and reapplied.
I guess I was under the impression applying lacquer was way quicker than poly. I know it evaporates, flashes off, faster but that doesn’t mean cure. Yeah I love the look of high gloss on wood so that’s why I’m trying to learn everything about lacquering.
@@madelinejeanantiquesrestor9074 I don't like to be the pedantic guy, but for the sake of clarity which I believe is helpful, nitrocellulose and acrylic lacquers, thinned with acetone-based solvent, AKA lacquer thinner, do not cure. They dry; they're evaporative. Curing and drying are two distinctly different processes.
In the main, it's important to find and refer to the product data sheets for these finishing systems. Mohawk product data sheets are all online.
Yes, it's true about waiting the correct amount of time between recoats. e.g. With Mohawk Finisher's Choice lacquer, you should wait at least 45 minutes when working in an environment of 77°F with a relative humidity of approximately 45%.
You should not need to sand the finish down and reapply if you're using Mohawk No Blush Plus Retarder correctly. BTW, routinely sanding between each coat of lacquer is a waste of time and material. Lacquer does depend on mechanical adhesion. Each coat of lacquer melts into the previous coat.
As low as 65F with as much as 55% relative humidity will work fine but the interval times between recoats should also increase. I generally wait a full hour between coats.
Besides adequate can shaking before spraying, the temperature of the cans should be between 65° and 90°F. This applies to Mohawk No Blush Plus Retarder. Again, refer to those Mohawk product data sheets are all online.
Note that these are some of the basics.
@@madelinejeanantiquesrestor9074 Around 45 minutes to an hour between recoats depending on temperature and humidity. I don't spay lacquer unless the temp is between 60F and 90F and humidity is reliably below 60%.
Mohawk No Blush will solve blushing but it won't resolve fisheyes. With fisheyes you have to sand off the contaminated layers of lacquer, you're pretty much better off stripping the piece back down to wood and starting over.
I recommend working very cleanly, including wearing white cotton photo gloves while prepping and handling throughout the workflow, to avoid contamination that causes fisheyes.
By the way I apply 2 coats of lacquer a bay instead of 1 coat of poly per day
Thank you for sharing that information. Usually how many total coats of lacquer do you apply?
@@madelinejeanantiquesrestor9074 2-3 depending how porous the wood is You do great work
I just watched a video using a blow dryer
Yeah I tried a heat gun. That seemed to work temporarily but then the white haze came back.
I’m so sorry!! BUT .. I so admire you. I’ve learned so much from you! I know you’ll not give up and I’m learning along with you👯♂️
I also am winging it alone but you’re my inspiration girl🤓🩷🩷
PS .. I’ve never used lacqer🤭💁♀️
@10:10 There's something quite wrong going on. There's certainly contamination. I suspect wax. Old-fashioned wood drawers are waxed to slide in and out more smoothly. If that's a very old antique then it is quite likely that the underside edges and bottom panel have been liberally waxed and it's been spread around by fingers handling the drawer.