Spray lacquer, wet sanding, purpleheart .... Finishing help

Photos might be helpful

-- It's made of wood. Real sturdy.--Chubbs Peterson

Spray can lacquer is great stuff – but the layers are really really thin…so I don’t see wet sanding til you have around 3 to 5 coats on or you will cut right through the finish.

I have a cheap but works good HVLP gravity gun that runs off my compressor – and I spray Deft Brushing Lacquer. It has a LOT more solids in it so better coating, but also there are retarders and thickeners, that make it quite resistant to sagging/running or getting orange-peel.

-- "Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement." Ronald Reagan

I would say more like 8 coats…. but yes, you can rub it out

-- Childress Woodworks

Ben, not to give away a project but envision a loose stack of lumber ;)

Ok so 8 coats sounds like a real blast and all but what if i used a different finish on the flat surfaces? LJ Bertha had a project where he used walnut danish oil wet sanded and wiped off and i was contemplating using a method similar to that.

Is there a better idea to finishing those loose ends that anyone can think of?

-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty

Hmm. re-reading your post and the comment above. Sounds like you want to apply the lacquer with wet sandpaper? Not going to work. You would need to use an oil finish like the danish oil you mentioned. Or BLO or tung will work too. If you want to wet sand after the finish cures, then the lacquer will work fine and won’t take that long to apply all the coats necessary to rub it out.

How big is this box? Could you use the danish oil and “dip” the ends in it? That might work.

-- Childress Woodworks

I could definately dip the ends in, i bet the end grain would soak up a bunch of finish and not even drip on me. The box is small its like 10” long 5” wide. Once the oil (BLO or DO) dries i can spray the lacquer over that or should there be a seal coat in there?

-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty

Here you can see where I put some finish on a very rough surface. I used spray on lacquer and I sprayed everything, including the smooth parts. I never over-sprayed because I did not want any runs or streaks. I believe I applied 10 coats.

One tip – Before spraying the rough surface, blast it with you air compressor to get it as clean as possible. In theory, a power washer may work even better, but it seemed to messy to me and it could have been too powerful.

-- Rich, Cedar Rapids, IA - I'm a woodworker. I don't create beauty, I reveal it.