lacquer question: tonar?

[Orpheo]

Guys, gals,

I'm having a bit of an issue here. I have 4 les pauls which are 'finished' in 4 coats of oil. danish, if I recall correctly. The stuff didn't really become a film, it just sunk in the woods and pores, and thats it.

At any rate, I want to sand them up a bit, grab a can of acryllic transpartant goodyness and finish these four off in a couple of coats of clear stuff.


what are the do's and don'ts? what are the pointers I should be aware of?

the woods in question are not your typical fair; its padouk, purpleheart, rosewood and wenge.

Let me get one thing straight: I am not aiming for a mirror finish, cause thats not what they are right now. Just a bit more glossy and a bit more 'real', because the oil colors the woods quite a bit.

PS: what i I were to sand the guitars off with grit 220 and then 600, then fill the pores with epoxy, and THEN acryllic; would that work (to achieve a mirror-ish finish with less lacquer or whatever? )

I'm sorry that I can't put my thoughts to words right now, I hope it all makes sense a bit. But my mind is just a blur right now.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

I won't comment on filling the grain, but as far as the other aspects, I would wipe the excess oil off with naptha.  Several times.  Most finishes will have trouble with the excess oil.  Then use some wax free shellac to make an intermediate coat on top of the previous finish.  Finally, go to town using the top coat that you want to try next.  I am sure that there are probably more steps so the other will help fill in the gaps.  Oh the puns...
Patrick

 

[Cagey]

Mm. Good luck. None of those woods want to take a finish in the first place, and you've oiled 'em up on top of that? And you're not going to finish them off with "a can of acryllic transpartant goodyness" (sic). For four guitars? Maybe a case, if you're lucky.

Pat's idea is best, and what I'd try. Shellac is a good barrier finish. But on those woods, I'm not sure if even that would work. You may end up having to strip again.

But, I'm not an expert. It might be worth it to call somebody like Behlen or Sherwin Williams who has a chemist on staff that you can talk to. They may have some magical primer/sealer that'll let you get away with murder. Be sure to pretend you're a commercial shop, not an individual. You restore things - yeah. Reason for that is, there are some things they don't sell to the general public, and they won't even tell you where to try and get it. Just keep in mind there's a reason for that - the stuff is usually as toxic as Lindsey Lohan. So, be sure you know what you're getting into and how to protect yourself.

 

[Orpheo]

This thread can ben locked down. I got my answer. not from Tonar, by the way, haha. a friend of mine, who has finished more guitars than I care to think about, gave me the best solution:

http://www.rockinger.com/index.php?cat=WG182&lang=ENG&product=09040%2F09049

this will work according to him.

@patrick: there is no excess to wipe off. there's virtually no oil left on the guitars...

 

[Patrick from Davis]

By excess I mean that could be rubbed off with the naptha.  Not polymerized or bound to the wood in any manner.
Patrick