Sealing before painting

[Bacwudz Kustumz]

I've beenusing Deft Lacquer Spray Sealer before I paint my signs it worked awsome and sanded off the sections I wanted to stain so easy..... Lowes now says they are not stocking it anymore and I hate ordering stuff like that online anybody know where they would still stock it or if there is any other product like it that works as good.

[ChrisInEstes]

I'd try a smaller local type lumber yard, or a hardware store such as Ace.

Chris

[Leo]

Shellac is also a good sealer

The "lac's" are similar in that they are solvent based and leave a coating - not like poly that is a reactive finish that cures.

Lacquer and Shellac leave a deposit after the solvent evaporates

Poly - cures into a different coating.

Shellac can be washed off (with effort) with denatured alcohol. I am pretty confident Lacquer can also with Lacquer thinner.

Poly - once it is cured is impervious to the solvent used to thin it.

I use Shellac as a sealer all the time. BTW - you can use your own shellac by purchasing shellac flakes and disolving in denatures alcohol. It is a LOT less expensive than rattle can shellac.

[ssflyer]

I prefer shellac also, as pretty much anything can be applied over it.

[Bacwudz Kustumz]

Is the shellac easy to sand off I haven't tried it before

[gordread]

Shellac is very easy to sand. I use it as a sanding sealer all the time.

I'm with Leo, purchasing the shellac flakes, and mixing your own is the way to go.

Gordon

[glenninvb]

Hello Howie,

If you really want to use lacquer which I can't stand the odor here is a link for various Mohawk lacquer products. The price is $ 5.71 per can. They offer inexpensive shipping and quick service. I have used their pre-cat lacquer and toners.

I just purchased some blond shellac flakes and made a small batch of 2lb. cut shellac for sealing (paint fill on engravings) and it sands easily. you can also use the Zinnser seal coat which is an unwaxed shellac (check date on can) any topcoat can be used over it. Shellac is nice very little if not a pleasant odor

The Mohawk lacquers are a great aerosol product, I like the matte finish, dries to sand in thirty min. and can be recoated anytime.
They also sell lacquer sanding sealer and vinyl sealers

http://magicwoodrepair.com/
http://magicwoodrepair.com/items/aeroso ... detail.htm

[Bacwudz Kustumz]

Thanks guys I'll give the shellac a try this weekend since its cold in the shop and I cant leave the doors open I like the idea of little to no odor.

[tmerrill]

You may want to investigate the dangers before using Shellac in an enclosed area before you proceed.

Here is the MSDS Hazards section for the Zinsser brand of Shellacs:

http://www.rustoleum.com/MSDS/ENGLISH/850.PDF

For shellac you have prepared from flakes, review safety information for denatured alcohol:

http://engineering.case.edu/thinkbox/si ... lcohol.pdf

There is also minimum temperatures for applying shellac. For the Seal Coat product it is 50 F (10 C).

Tim

[glenninvb]

Tim,

Brush application of shellac is fairly benign compared to spraying and far more benign than any lacquer products, after all denatured alcohol is used in stoves in sailboats and camp stoves.

I'm not disagreeing with your MSDS document and all safety should be considered, shellac is also used on floors by brush or wipe application and yes with that much surface area I would recommend extra ventilation.

Pretty soon polyisocyanate, styrene, acetone, lacquer, and hundreds of other chemicals will be a thing of the past, and some of the pigments as well. Even water bourn products contain harmful compounds, and then there is toxic wood dust. ( my 1 micron canister filter on dust collector is nice)

Tim, I'm not trying to be a smart as@, or disagreeing with you, just saying shellac is one of the safer finishes (brushed) in my "opinion"