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Hello all. Does anyone have any advice for brushing lacquer? Can spray
lacquer be brushed by adding a slower evaporating thinner or retarder?   
Thanks.

My Dad was fairly adept at doing guitar finishing using brushing lacquer. His material of choice was a formulation from DEFT lacquers which I beleive used coconut oil to provide enough retardation to allow it to be brushed.

Rather than fiddling with lacquer that is formulated for spraying I would think it would be far more efficient to get a brushing lacquer initially.

I do know that the preferred method is loading the brush and applying

in a single stroke in one direction only (no back and forth.....)

    

StewMac also sells brushing laquer.

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-Rob Eckert
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Good quality natural bristle brush, thin so that the lacquer flow out of the brush but not so thin that it drips bad. learning how to load the brush is important. Flow out onto the surface in one direction only, over lap by a 1/4 to 3/8 brush width. Never backstroke.

When applying the lacquer, it should just flow off the end of the brush. The brush should always be pulled by the grip with the bristles following using very light contact pressure. Think of the brush as only the carrier. The lacquer should just flow out the back end of this carrier. Never paint it on. flowing it out will create no bubbles or brush marks. Painting it on or back stroking will create a mess. Never go back over an applied area. If you have unfilled spots, correct them during the next coat.

Everyone has different schedules but I put on two coats allow to cure a couple days. Level add 2 more coats (Most allow each coat to firm up before adding the next) Cure a couple days level out. Then add 2 finial coats, allow to cure 15-30 days (temp and rh determine the cure time). Rub out and buff.

What type of lacquer do you use Michael?

Belhens Nito

I should have said when I use nitro. My brushing instructions would be applicable to any lacquer or basically any clear coat brushed finish be it waterborne acrylic lacquer nitro, brushing varnish such as Belhens Rockhard. The drying times and cure time will vary dependent on the media

Thinning with paint thiner can help. Thinning by 1/3 or up to 1/2 can help reduce brush marks and extend drying time. It will take more coats to build up a thicker finish but it will help the lacquer flow better on to the wood. Thinned like this you can also use it as a wipping varnish. I prefer the wipping method on my woodworking projects.

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Guitars, guitars and more guitars.

OK, dumb question time. What do you folks do with your brushes between same day coats and consecutive day coats? Do you clean them and them somehow get them dry on time for the next coat or do you try to keep them wet with the finish by wrapping them up or letting them sit in the finish. The reason I ask is because I bought a relatively expensive brush and I was trying to clean it between coats but I couldn't completely dry it out on time for the next coat.

Thanks,
Pat

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There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

I have several that I use at a time. I clean after each use and book wrap and put up to dry out. I keep a rotation going like this. Some will use mason jars and put a hole in the lid to fit the handle and tape to the handle and store the bristles submerged in lacquer in the glass jar while not in use. I don't like this because natural bristles will shed. They should be cleaned book wrapped in kraft paper, allowed to air dry then combed before using again to get rid of shedding hairs