Target relative humidity

Its been 2 weeks since I had my body ready to finish buts its been real humid & rainy.

Right now relative humidity is 65% and will be wet and humid all week again.
Would I be safe to spray mc lacquer?

Bill

I would advise you to wait. I am in your current situation as well....been waiting a month and counting to spray outside (spraying inside isn't an option for me...poo). Apparently about 55% humidity is the magic number. If you spray in anything above that you run a serious risk of blushing, which can suck. But with me living at the beach it looks like the guitar might be done by...oh...say....Christmas.

Rel.Hum now at 69%.
Yes, I think I will wait along with you too CMeyer.

Bill

And we wait.....and wait.....and wait..... = )

I guess you Canadians are not familar with Realitive Humidity..
We need some of our fellow members from deep rural america to tell you about it
It has nothing to do with guitars

I guess you Canadians are not familar with Realitive Humidity..
We need some of our fellow members from deep rural america to tell you about it
It has nothing to do with guitars
Oh no he didn't....haha....I don't think I you can post that joke on the boards here...lol....

I shot as high as 60%

Its been 2 weeks since I had my body ready to finish buts its been real humid & rainy.

Right now relative humidity is 65% and will be wet and humid all week again.
Would I be safe to spray mc lacquer?

Bill

it gets pretty humid in KY this time of year so I can empathize! If you're using a spray gun or Preval unit... cut your lacquer 50% with retarder and you can get on with your project no matter what the humidity index is.

My attitude about blushing is so what. When a workpiece at work blushes on me... I dust it with 100% retarder and it's gone. Even if you're using just rattle cans for your project, a Preval unit with retarder in it on standby can keep your shop flow productive.

Would just a little lacquer thinner in a Preval unit work as a blush eraser?

Out here the humidity is only 36% and that translates to 43C/109F on the humidex :shock:. Just sitting here doing nothing and I'm soaked never mind spraying. Would probably dry before it even hit the body.

Would just a little lacquer thinner in a Preval unit work as a blush eraser?

for a moment or two, until it dries... most of the time, most of the blush comes back. So the short answer is no. Lacquer thinner evaporates to quickly... retarder is slower to evaporate... slow enough to erase the blush as it were.

You need to be careful with retarder however. If you shoot a workpiece with lacquer cut with retarder and spray it on too heavy you can get sagging runs and curtains on vertical surfaces because you slowed the evaporation down for the amount of material you laid on. When you use 100% retarder in a Preval as a blush eraser, you mist it on the effected area only, you know dust it.

If you're confident with your spray technique, it's not a problem. If you're a bit skittish about this, do a 50/50 mix of lac thinner & retarder with your lacquer. That's enough to keep out of Blushville and not get freaked out about runs.


Hope this helps...

Cole....

That makes sense.....right now the humidity here is 98%....GOOD GAWD!!!! I purchased a couple of Preval units today locally from Home Depot. I was actually a bit surprised to see they carried them. Do you know of anyone that might carry Lacquer Retarder? Or would ordering some be my best bet? Thanks again.

Can you borrow a dehumidifier from someone?

I could....but I am spraying outside so not sure it would do any good. Maybe if I had a HUGE one. :lol::lol:

Oh. I was about to suggest making a cheap spray booth with plastic and then placing about ten 2 liter bottles of frozen water around the edges.

Cole....

That makes sense.....right now the humidity here is 98%....GOOD GAWD!!!! I purchased a couple of Preval units today locally from Home Depot. I was actually a bit surprised to see they carried them. Do you know of anyone that might carry Lacquer Retarder? Or would ordering some be my best bet? Thanks again.

try a paint store...