Finishing woes

[fergy]

I'm in the process of finishing a commission piece at the moment. I sprayed samples, got it approved, client's all happy with that. It's a set of three pieces made out of lacewood veneer and walnut.

Sprayed the piece with Amazing Stain dye from ML Campbell that I had custom-mixed for this project. I wound up taking it way too heavy, even with a sample board to compare with. Of course, I couldn't see it until I sprayed the first coat of pre-cat on it. Color's way off, almost solid purple.

So, I've tested stripping it with another sample piece, using lacquer thinner and steel wool, and frequent rinsing of the steel wool in a vat of thinner. I can cut down to the wood and a final wipe with a paper towel has me back at bare wood, albeit with a patina of lacquer in the pores. I discovered that nitrile gloves don't work so well with lacquer thinner.

This dye also works as a toner, and has some vinyl in it. I'm not worried about respraying, much lighter this time, even if there's some lacquer still in the wood. In fact, the remaining dye/lacquer in the wood is going to pop the figure, and it will help with the intricate moulding details.

But, are there better ways to approach this situation? Sanding strikes me as a bad idea due to the veneer.

Any suggestions? I'm under a serious time crunch but a bucket of thinner strikes me as about my only option, unless the client decides she likes this color.

Couple all of this with a compressor that died today.

 

[cskipper]

I wish I could help you, but I don't do well with finishes. Hopefully more helpful folks will pipe in.

 

[fergy]

I cleaned most of the finish off last night via sanding, and a little lacquer thinner. I've still got more of that to do, getting into corners and the details of the moulding. One thing I noticed is that the pre-cat lacquer is hardening up quickly; the lacquer thinner's having issues softening it already.

Also, it looks like I need to find a different thinner; this one dissolved three pairs of heavy nitrile gloves.

 

[cskipper]

Bump

 

[NZAPP1]

Fergy
I am sorry for you troubles. I will can not be much help with a resolution but if you send a PM to Howard Acheson I am sure he may have some tricks that can help.
Best of luck

 

[IanSr008]

The Wurth Group has the gloves that you need. Stained about 70 cabinet doors with them and they are still going strong. The ML Campbell wiping stain works well. It's hard to get the inside corners with the spray.

 

[fergy]

Actually, they only have nitrile gloves. I was there getting more stain and lacquer Friday. They last about 20 seconds with thinner on them.

I've sanded off most of the finish . At this point I'm spraying 100% thinner and evening out the remaining dye prior to respraying. I'm still cleaning a bit of dye out of the corners and the ends of the flutes, but it's coming. I figure about 3 more hours of cleaning before I can shoot the new dye.

 

[IanSr008]

I wash the stain off the gloves with the thinner and still going. They have them on the counter.

 

[Jeff]

Your glove dilemma lies in the fundamental chemistry of "lacquer thinners". The latter term is generic and different manufacturers incorporate different solvents at varying levels. Your best bet is a laminated film glove; they're not entirely foolproof and will also degrade, but at a much slower rate. I'd suggest first looking at the MSDS for your specific thinner and then choose an appropriate glove. Ansell's "Barrier" seems like a good choice. Search their website for "Barrier" and dealer/distributor in NC (it's an extensive list).

http://www.ansellpro.com/main/technicalCenter_faq2.asp?fid=16

http://www.ansellpro.com/product-catalog/ProductDetail.aspx?productId=259

 

[gazzer]

Your glove dilemma lies in the fundamental chemistry of "lacquer thinners". The latter term is generic and different manufacturers incorporate different solvents at varying levels. Your best bet is a laminated film glove; they're not entirely foolproof and will also degrade, but at a much slower rate. I'd suggest first looking at the MSDS for your specific thinner and then choose an appropriate glove. Ansell's "Barrier" seems like a good choice. Search their website for "Barrier" and dealer/distributor in NC (it's an extensive list).

http://www.ansellpro.com/main/technicalCenter_faq2.asp?fid=16


http://www.ansellpro.com/product-catalog/ProductDetail.aspx?productId=259

I've used the North Silver Shield laminated gloves with good performance against difficult solvents. They definitely do not give you the same grip and feel, but I have found that if you wear a pair of nitriles over them it's much better. Just replace the outer glove as it degrades.

PS: my reply was not accepted the first time because it was too short - so I added this irrelevant line.

-G