Hi all,
Could someone please explain me the difference between lacquer and varnish? I guess I am not the first one asking this question, anyway I live in Germany and trying to adjust some writings about wood finishing to the products we have here, I need to understand this, since in Germany the terms are different.
Thanks
Gal
Replies
Varnish is a mixture of resin (natural or synthetic such as urethane) and a curable oil (one that will react with oxygen and harden). Polyurethane is nothing more than varnish that uses urethane as the resin. Old-style varnishes used natural resins from fossilized sap or other such things.
Laquer is a finish made from cellulose (among other things). It hardens by evaporation of the solvent and can be re-dissolved at any time in the future by laquer thinner. Varnish does not re-dissolve by application of its' solvent (mineral spirits; a petroleum derivative).
Varnish is der Firnis, and the description above is adequate.
Lacquer as it is referred to here is nitrocellulose lacquer or die Zaponlack. More generally, any coating that cures primarily by evaporation. Lacquers can be modified with other resins to improve durability, such as acrylic or alkyd resins, or others.
I had the same problem with technical terms when I lived in Germany.
Michael R
Thank you all for the answers, now I have order in my head after a long time of confusion, thanks.
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