Replies

1. 
   oldusty | Feb 13, 2007 08:41am | #1

   knotty one ,

                     Was there any finish or stain or anything on the wood before you sprayed it ?       Tell us more , what was different in the two pieces ?

                            dusty

1. 
   knotty1 | Feb 14, 2007 12:08am | #5

   Olddusty,

   I sprayed on bare maple wood.  the cabinets were made of maple hardwood and maple plywood.  Cabinets turned out fine.  I got a message from RING and he suggested possibly a too heavy coat and  another gentleman suggested that I didn't give it enough time for the first coat to cure.  Both are valid points.

2. 
   ring | Feb 13, 2007 03:08pm | #2

   Any of the following?

   1. Headboard had some previous finish of any kind on it?
   2. Headboard was lying flat and you used a really heavy coat, as opposed to the cabinet sides which got moderate coverage?
   3. Headboard might have been exposed to something in the air while it was drying, like spray silicone?

   David Ring

   http://www.touchwood.co.il/?id=1&lang=e

1. 
   Kevin | Feb 13, 2007 07:05pm | #3

   Of those three the first one is by far the more likely. Silicone will cause fisheyes/craters rather than crackling. And I've only seen lacquer crackle/wrinkle from a heavy coat once in over 20 years of working with the stuff. That was with pre-cat lacquer and it was a heavy finish over another heavy, not yet cured out coat of the same. I called my Sherwin Williams rep and he said he'd never heard of pre-cat doing that. I've never seen it before or since. And there the acid catalyst had to have played the starring role. I don't believe it's physically possible for non-catalyzed lacquer to crackle under the same conditions.

1. 
   knotty1 | Feb 14, 2007 12:04am | #4

   Thanks for your input.  Perhaps I put a heavy coat the first time and did not allow it to cure before applying another coat.  I'll keep this advice for the next project!

1. 
   Kevin | Feb 14, 2007 01:05am | #6

   There is a really good object lesson here: laying down another coat or a topcoat before the undercoat has thoroughly flashed is always, always, always going to take the longest to reach a full cure. It doesn't matter what the paint or finish material is. The absolute fastest way to do a finish/paint job is to allow each and every coat to fully flash off to the manufactorer's specs before proceeding with the next coat.

   Painters are infamous for wanting to rush a job and laying on another coat too quickly. So much so that when I attended a DuPont automotive refinishing seminar a little over 7 years ago, the first thing they did when we got to the paint booth portion was to prove to us painters that it was faster to wait. The instructer did side-by-side panels, inviting a couple of us to paint one according to how we were used to doing it. His was the first one dry and the next one dry really wasn't very soon afterwards. It was a real eye opener for me and everyone else because time is money! I've since found that it's a universal rule of thumb. Lacquer, latex and everything else I've tried it on respond exactly like the automotive paints do. It's faster to wait.

3. 
   BilljustBill | Feb 14, 2007 08:55am | #7

   With the one that cracked all over, is it possible that it was exposed to a lower temperature that the one that didn't crackle?

     Bill

1. 
   knotty1 | Feb 16, 2007 05:59am | #8

   Bill,  I just started spraying on some cabinets I'm making and am not putting on a heavy coat.  So far so good!  It also is cool temperature and everything is looking great.  thanks for your question.  Carol

1. 
   BilljustBill | Feb 16, 2007 07:31am | #9

       Carol,

        About 35 years ago, I built a Cherry china cabinet with glass doors and plate rail grooves on those upper display shelves.  I used a spray gun and clear lacquer then sprayed 8-10 coats on all the surfaces.

      I gave the china cabinet to my mom and dad who lived in a wooden farm house heated with natural gas floor heaters.  In the winter, the home's temps might vary between 80 degrees all the way down to the mid 30's.  In the summer the home was cooled with an evaporative cooler, so the Texas heat was cool with very high humidity.... Needless to say, with all those temp changes, that handrubbed deep lacquer finish on the horizonal surfaces cracked like a hot glass marble dropped in ice water.... 

      Since the shelves have dishes covering them, Mom doesn't see all the fractures, but I do and will try to fix them when the piece come home to me....

      Bill