hello all: I have a lacquered pine buffet. I would like to add color. I don’t know the type of lacquer used. Can I apply a stain, perhaps a gel stain, over it? Is there anything else I can use other than paint? What preparation is needed? What about a finishing coat?
Larry
Replies
To determine if your lacquer is nitrocellulose lacquer, put some MEK (methyl ethyl ketone, aka lacquer thinner) on a hidden or out of the way spot. If the thinner dissolves the finish, you've got nitrocellulose lacquer. NC lacquer can be stripped off (if you want) using the MEK, and then you can start from fresh. WARNING: MEK has dangerous fumes. Do this only in a well ventilated area. Avoid doing it in the house, as DW will probably object to the smell.
Another clue as to whether it is Nitrocellulose lacquer vs a catalyzed finish is that NC lacquer tends to yellow with age, and this shoulf be apparent on a pine buffet.
If it's a catalyzed lacquer finish (which you would expect for a modern piece of furniture), you're probably out of luck since this is a spray finish, and I suspect you don't have a spray booth and HVLP set up.
Stain, even gel stain, won't work on top to NC lacquer, and I don't expect paint to stick, either. I've never put anything on top of a lacquer finish other than more lacquer or wax. You can tint NC lacquer and apply more coats to change your piece's color. A colored wax might help a little, too, but might not have enough color on pine to suit your needs.
Finally (and should have been firstly!), are you sure it is a lacquer finish?
Good luck!
MEK is awful strong stuff. Regular lacquer thinner would melt a nitrocellulose and wouldn't touch a catalyzed finish.
The short answer to what you asked is yes it is possible, and there's a couple of ways of doing it. I would probably lean on tinting another layer of lacquer, depending on how much color you want. If its a lot, very thin coats of dewaxed shellac (like half lb cut) as a binder, with dyes, lets one build a lot of color without a lot of film thickness. And you could topcoat that with a clearcoat.
The gel stain won't stick very well to either.
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twh,
I've had some success with overcoating older lacquer with NGR (non-grain-raising, or spirit) stain. The solvents are strong enough to melt into the old finish. Overcoating with more lacquer is probably a good idea. The whole process is fraught with possibilities for disaster, (due to compatibility issues all along the way) so I'd only try this when the alternative is stripping and refinishing anyway.
Misting the stain on with a sprayer is the best way. It can be padded, but is a challenge to get an even color, as wiping to even up is not an option, since it is melting into the finish as it touches down.
Ray
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