Why doe’s everyone like black lacquer ..

TheDryad | Posted in Finishing on February 26, 2004 04:52am

..furniture? Is it very hard to do and can most wood products, like hardboards, be finished in this manner.. help! I have noticed a lot of the items I have viewed in the big furniture places are not constructed very well but if they have that deep finish, on the entertainment and dinning room stuff, it still sells very well. Can anybody explain the process to me and give me a hint in which substrates can hold this finish the best? Thanks beforehand! – Dryad-

Replies

jackplane | Feb 26, 2004 10:03pm | #1
Black lacquer is used on a lot of low end furniture because it can cover a multitude of sins involving joinery,poor materials, etc. It'll cover most anything in woodwork, and catilyzed lacquer is probably the hardest of lacquers; it involves multiple coats to build a good film.

TomMGTC | Feb 26, 2004 11:10pm | #2
I hate the stuff personally and I have one decorator that all she ever wants is crappy mdf furniture with glossy laquer finishes. I have been having an autobody friend of mine do the painting on all her stuff cause I just can't stand it. He's not cheap but it's not coming out of my pocket either. If she wants to pay that much money for mdf furniture that's her perogative. Tom

Douglasville, GA
Elcoholic | Feb 27, 2004 03:19am | #3
I beg to differ. Paint magnifies surface imperfections and bad joinery. If paint is a magnifying glass, then black lacquer is a x1000 microscope. You have to be very good with bondo and lacquer putty to pull it off. I'm with you on the rest though as it hides inferior man made materials.

John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

Life is tough. It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne

SEBDESN | Feb 27, 2004 03:25am | #4
A few years ago a Japanese lady wanted a one off table. So I whipped one up that was very "Japanese", out of cherry. Looked great. But she sez she wants it BLACK AND SHINY......So I made another one out of poplar and shot it with automotive primer surfacer, (tons of solids), sanded it smooth with 600 wd, and black automotive lacquer. She loved it! I still have the cherry one...

Bud
chise2 | Feb 27, 2004 10:24am | #5
You can also put black lacquer on an open grain wood for a different look. I think black lacquer has a bold look and it doesn't have to be applied to cheap materials.

TheDryad | Feb 28, 2004 02:35am | #6
Great idea chisel! Oak with a lacquer finish = a bomb! About the heavy duty lacquer finishes- advice well taken. The finish is not everything but a Very important part of a project. I have worked with great cabinet makers but are less then fair to midland in the finishing aspect and some others vise-versa. Seems like a multi step process for the deeper lacquer finishes. Not as bad as french polishing at least. Thanks again!