Getting a nice, smooth, glossy finish

[Alan Weinberg]

OP asked re a waterproof finish. Look up Hassui Ceramic. 5OFF code gets 5% off—supposedly waterproof Japanese sealer. Expensive stuff. Can’t speak to its effectiveness. Learned about it on AAW forum.

 

[Tom McDonnell]

This has been a good thread and has reminded me why I like oil finishes. I generally stay away from shiny and glossy but it does seem appropriate for the occasional turned object in my shop. The only real success I've had with either oil or water based poly has been many coats sanded and polished. Far too much labor to want to repeat often. I do spray lacquer on christmas ornaments with good results. I spray a quick tack coat and after it sets a bit I spray more coats. This seems to inhibit runs a bit.
Randy Anderson on this forum, french polishes his vases. That ideas been on mind for a while. I have done that on furniture but it's another rabbit hole to fall in.
Walnut and tung oil work well for me in my dusty shop.

 

[Jon Rista]

OP asked re a waterproof finish. Look up Hassui Ceramic. 5OFF code gets 5% off—supposedly waterproof Japanese sealer. Expensive stuff. Can’t speak to its effectiveness. Learned about it on AAW forum.

Wow. I just did a web search for that. Some of the images are of some truly beautiful items. I would love to give this a try, but phew!! SPENDYYYYY! Its $190 for a quart!! HAH! And I was stickershocked the other day at $60/qt for finishes I was buying 5 years ago at around half that. :O

Some day, maybe... I do like the idea of water proof though. It is supposedly non-toxic. The thing that really blows me away...its silicon! I haven't heard many people say "NEVER EVER EVER" much when it comes to woodworking...however, I've encountered a few people who have said it about silicon, as I guess it can be rather ruinous to wood and prevent proper finishing? Curious that an entire finish is based on the stuff now.,

 

[Jon Rista]

This has been a good thread and has reminded me why I like oil finishes. I generally stay away from shiny and glossy but it does seem appropriate for the occasional turned object in my shop. The only real success I've had with either oil or water based poly has been many coats sanded and polished. Far too much labor to want to repeat often. I do spray lacquer on christmas ornaments with good results. I spray a quick tack coat and after it sets a bit I spray more coats. This seems to inhibit runs a bit.
Randy Anderson on this forum, french polishes his vases. That ideas been on mind for a while. I have done that on furniture but it's another rabbit hole to fall in.
Walnut and tung oil work well for me in my dusty shop.

Yeah, been an educational thread. I think I am starting to learn, based on some things the ever-helpful John K Jordan has shared, and things shared in this and a couple other threads by several, that a truly good finish, just kind of requires effort and some time. I guess there are some key steps as well...initial surface prep, which is not as easy as it seems at all; the process of finishing itself, which may often require some elbow grease and effort to rub, burnish, or otherwise infuse the wood with its protective coatings; the curing process; fix and repair processes, which may sometimes be required. Oh, I guess also, is a selection process, to choose the best finish for the given piece. Gloss isn't appropriate for everything, but maybe some things. Oil, shellac, wax, something else, a blend of things; seal coats, primary coats, top coats... Hah. Its not a simple thing at all.

Aaron Harris' process he just described above, sounds a bit like french polishing. JKJ described his process in another thread. There is a lot of process involved, often involving rubbing or burnishing the finish into the wood. This is a key lesson for me, I think. A truly good finish, is not one that's done in a few minutes.

 

[Holmes Anderson]

Lots of bad information showing up here with lacquer. Blushing is caused by trapping moisture from the air inside the coat of finish as the solvent flashes off quickly. You can get blushing on the very first coat. Inadequate recoat time is not the main reason, and you can limit blushing by adding a retarder to the solvent. I used to buy my lacquer in 5 gallons buckets when I ran a woodworking business. I'd guess I've sprayed over 500 gallons over 52 years of woodworking. And I certainly have a lot of experience with humidity in Central IL. I also disagree that wood prep causes orange peel. A rattle can's biggest issue is low pressure and poor atomization from a crappy nozzle. But that reason was not well received the last time I posted it on here. Many thought the finish out of a rattle can was just fine and they never had orange peel from a rattle can. So believe and do what you want. Experience is not always accepted as knowledge on the internet! And speaking of safety. I'm 72 and have recently been diagnosed with liver damage and pancreatic enzyme deficiency. I can't eat any fatty foods, not even a hamburger. No more pizza either. I can only eat twice a day since my digestion is so bad it takes a half day to digest a meal and it won't be long I'll have to buy 2 bales of toilet paper at Costco. DON'T SPRAY BEHIND A FLOOR FAN!

Sorry to hear about your health issues. My dad also sprayed lacquer for many years. I wish you all the best. Regarding my previous posts, which could have been clearer, I think both alcohol and lacquer thinner are hygroscopic, i.e., they readily absorb moisture, so you can end up spraying moisture into your surface finish if the solvent has absorbed moisture before you start spraying. Surface cooling due to solvent evaporation can also cause condensation that gets trapped. I had to dig out my copy of Flexner's Understanding Wood Finishing for a sanity check. In the shellac chapter he lists the causes of blushing in shellac as too much moisture in the shellac and too much moisture in the air. Although he doesn't state it specifically, the former cause must be associated with the alcohol solvent absorbing water and the latter will be due to evaporative cooling. In the lacquer chapter Flexner describes the cause of lacquer blushing as evaporation of the lacquer thinner cooling the surface. He doesn't say it specifically, but the cooling condenses the water vapor on the sprayed surface. I was surprised that Flexner didn't list the same causes for blushing in shellac and lacqeur, but maybe lacquer thinner is less hygroscopic than alcohol. I have had shellac blush on a dry day and I think that was because there was too much moisture dissolved in the shellac before spraying and that moisture was buried under a second coat that was sprayed on before the alcohol and moisture in the first coat had a chance to evaporate. It is possible to bury the moisture-laden solvent deep in the finish that way, and no amount of dry time will clear the blush but a heat gun can do wonders. If there is no moisture in the liquid finish and the air is dry, then spraying a second coat of shellac on a still wet/tacky previous coat doesn't seem to be a problem and I guess the same is true for lacquer. Anyway, I don't disagree with anything you stated and appreciate your wealth of experience but I think evaporation of the solvent and the moisture in the solvent are both part of the blushing equation, at least with shellac. As far as orange peel and surface prep goes (not wood prep), Flexner describes fish eye cratering in lacquer as being caused by surface contamination. I don't know how to deal with problems other than surface prep when using spray cans because it isn't possible to adjust the solvent or spray settings. Again, all the best with your health issues.