Deft Lacquer Will Not Cure (Dry)...Help

[HiggyDude]

I'm having an issue with a body that I finished with Deft Sand-n-Sealer, Krylon (old cans - not new version) and Deft Lacquer. The body has been finished for almost 4 months. I let the body sit in my garage for many weeks - live in the Phoenix area so garage was plenty warm and very low humidity. The lacquer never seemed to harden. If I laid the body on a towel and came back the next day there would be small imprints from the towel in the finish.

So, I thought maybe the garage is too warm and it is keeping the lacquer soft. I moved the body into the house where it has been for the past 5 weeks. It has been wet sanded and polished - nice mirror shine but the lacquer is still soft. I had the body lying on some poster board over the weekend while I finish the neck - it still sticks to the poster board and the finish picks up any uneven spot it is lying on...

Anybody ever had a lacquer finish that stayed soft for so long??

[JasonRobert]

Originally Posted by HiggyDude

I'm having an issue with a body that I finished with Deft Sand-n-Sealer, Krylon (old cans - not new version) and Deft Lacquer. The body has been finished for almost 4 months. I let the body sit in my garage for many weeks - live in the Phoenix area so garage was plenty warm and very low humidity. The lacquer never seemed to harden. If I laid the body on a towel and came back the next day there would be small imprints from the towel in the finish.

So, I thought maybe the garage is too warm and it is keeping the lacquer soft. I moved the body into the house where it has been for the past 5 weeks. It has been wet sanded and polished - nice mirror shine but the lacquer is still soft. I had the body lying on some poster board over the weekend while I finish the neck - it still sticks to the poster board and the finish picks up any uneven spot it is lying on...

Anybody ever had a lacquer finish that stayed soft for so long??

If the lacquer coats are too thick, or arent allowed enough drying time inbetween coats, then this will happen. a lot of thin coats are better than one big coat.

[HiggyDude]

Originally Posted by JasonRobert

If the lacquer coats are too thick, or arent allowed enough drying time inbetween coats, then this will happen. a lot of thin coats are better than one big coat.

Jason - thanks - that could be it. Would sanding to remove some of the lacquer help?

[jimd]

Higgydude, I have the exact same problem. I put the the finish on pretty thick (a lot of coats) to prevent my heavy handedness from sanding through. Its been over six months and I'm still not sure its cured. Your towel problem happened to me too. I didn't think I over did it that much. I've heard others complain about Deft taking a long time to cure. But then some have had no problems. I'm sure it is user dependent.

[boris bubbanov]

I can visualize Jim having this problem in Ohio. I remember, it can be humid there (not like here!).

But Higgy, you have a major issue if you're not drying fast in one of the best lacquering spots in the world, arid Arizona.

I suspect the color coat is defective in some way, a reservoir of solvents prevented from offgassing somehow. Tell us more about exactly which Krylon you chose. (If it was that H2O stuff, get it all off, bad stuff).

But I am puzzled how that Deft wouldn't harden, unless it was bad. How many cans did you apply, and how quickly?

Tell us about the body wood. Was it properly dried, or did you apply water to it at some point which got trapped somehow?

You can't get some of the Deft off. If you feel you cannot set it aside for another month, it all has to come off with Acetone, down to the wood. By definition a "too soft" finish is one that cannot be sanded.

[robt57]

On one of my 08 summer paint jobs I laid it on super heavy and over white primer. Watco nitro semi-gloss I got a great deal on a gallon of, and no thinner in the last coats. It still has a paint smell factor of 4 out of 10 on the 1-10 scale and does not get dents when it lays on anything. I have held off on building it honestly, and I painted it in August.

I also did a gloss Watco Nitro tinited on wood only sealed with the lacquer to start. This one also got the last coats laid heavy which is good and dry I painted a few weeks earlier. No smell what so ever. I think the wood sucking the nitro down instead on it on the primer is the difference. They both look stellar and I am way pleased, but this post make me think of that primed one. ;)

[Buckocaster51]

My first question would be, "Did you THOROUGHLY shake the can before you used it?"

But I do tend to make this stuff up as I go along.

[JohnnyAtomic]

Originally Posted by Buckocaster51

My first question would be, "Did you THOROUGHLY shake the can before you used it?"

But I do tend to make this stuff up as I go along.

exactly what i was thinking. not enough hardner, because the can wasn't "all shook up".




Umm hmmm



ummmm hhmmmm


Heeeyy heeeyyy

I'm all shook up!

[Old Cane]

HD, I have had the same problem with everything I have done with Deft. It must be the way I put it on. I know for one that I shake it until my arm looks like I've been locked in the bathroom with a Hustler for a year. On th other hand, using the reranch clear (and color) I have a body and neck that is hard as a rock (by comparision) and I applied the same way as the Deft. I know reranch is VERY expensive but seems to be worth it to me.

[HiggyDude]

Originally Posted by boris bubbanov

I can visualize Jim having this problem in Ohio. I remember, it can be humid there (not like here!).

But Higgy, you have a major issue if you're not drying fast in one of the best lacquering spots in the world, arid Arizona.

Tell us more about exactly which Krylon you chose.

But I am puzzled how that Deft wouldn't harden, unless it was bad. How many cans did you apply, and how quickly?

Tell us about the body wood. Was it properly dried, or did you apply water to it at some point which got trapped somehow?

It is the old Krylon - before the "cap change." The body is an ash body from AllParts. I put on Deft sand-n-sealer, sprayed 3 or 4 coats of color - it is a light color so I wanted good coverage. I let the colorcoats dry for weeks - not just days but weeks. Wet sanded the color coats then applied the Deft gloss lacquer. I used 3 or 4 cans over a 3 week period - wet sanding twice in between coats to remove orange peel. I also made sure I shook the Deft like Old Cane said (that cracked me up ).

I've wet sanded the body and polished it - the lacquer does come of from sanding - I can see it and feel it on the 600 grit sandpaper.

I can wait for another month - it just doesn't seem like that would help. I've done other bodies with the same process and 2 AllParts maple necks with Deft sand-n-sealer, ReRanch tinted lacquer and Deft gloss - no problem. Heck - here in Arizona they dry practically in minutes... - so I'm at a loss.

I could strip the body down (again...) - I first tried Rustoleum on this body because it was the only brand that had the color I really liked in rattle cans - but that didn't mix well with the Deft - lifting and wrinkling. So I stripped the body completely...I'm stumped.

[mojo2001]

Had the same problem with Deft on one body--Deft SS, Reranch primer, Reranch Sonic Blue, then 2.5 cans of Deft.

Another body I sprayed with Deft the same week dried nice and hard in one month. This one was still soft after more than two months.

What I did was level sand with 600 and 800, then stored it in my air conditioned storage locker for a month. Very swampy here in coastal Virginia.

I figured that sanding off the outside coats would give the inner layers a chance to dry.

Seemed to help, although after three months this is not the hardest lacquer I've seen....playing it anyway. I'm expecting and getting a speedy relic job because the finish is somewhat soft.

I think my problem was laying on clear coats too fast. I sprayed a can a day for two days and put on some heavy coats to dissolve out some blushing, but sounds like you took your time.

Last two projects I used Minwax lacquer clear. Dries much harder and faster than Deft. Drawback is that the spray system is not as consistent...spits more and occasionally gives out a thick spritz with a lot of air bubbles in it. But it does dry nice and hard and takes a real nice polish.

So far, my combined experience is Deft sprays great but dries weird sometimes and Minwax dries great but sprays weird.

Also, I will note that my Minwax lacquer necks feel a little less "rubbery" or "plasticky" than my Deft necks...part of the "dries harder" impression.

I'm sort of a Minwax guy now.

I wouldn't doubt that the Reranch clear is good stuff...just pains me to spend $50 on clear if I don't have to.

[jimd]

Well, I could be guilty of not shaking enough. I'm just leaving mine alone until I can't stand it no more. Then I'll sand out the marks and see what I get. For my next build I'm trying the reranch clear. I've also heard good things about the minwax.

[HiggyDude]

Jim - I decided last night to get out the DeWalt orbital and some 400 grit pads - I hit all sides - twice. No I'll try letting it "dry" in my hot and arid garage - hell it's only going to hit 101 degrees today - a cold spell . Ironically, for the lacquer seeming too soft to cure I had no problem getting a nice fine dust of sanded lacquer...we shall see.

[jimd]

Mine took a long time (3 months?) before I could set it on a towel overnight and not get marks in the finish. I thought I was out of the woods then, but I found this summer that where it sat on a stand there were indents. That was a warm room with all the weight concentrated on 2 points. Keep an eye on it. I put mine in a case in a cool dry place. It seems ok there, lying flat.

[Larryguitar]

As a last resort, you can find a product sold by cosmetic stores to dry ladies' nail polish (which is often nitro, or nitro-'ish' lacquer) more quickly. I forget the brand, but something like 'Instant Fingernail Polish Dryer' or thereabouts.

It seems to be pure solvent, and works to flash off the finish it's sprayed on. Worked in a similar situation for me, may help you.

Larry

[jimd]

I've had mine sitting in a case for a couple months. I figured that would be the best place for it with the finish being so soft. I just checked it (because of this thread) and sure enough the finish is marked with the fibers of the case lining. I am at the end of my rope with this one.

If Bucks "hardener theory" is correct, will my finish ever harden?

Would a few extra coats that were properly shaken help or do I need sand it down and redo the whole finish?

[fshboat]

I am doing my first partscaster. I used Deft in the spray can. I sprayed about 2 1/2 cans on it in a period of about a week. Sprayed it real light for fear of screwing up. Seems to be turning out pretty good for a rookie. Now I am concerned about using Deft again in the event their product is not consistant.

[jimd]

fsboat, there are a lot of people who use Deft without a problem. I am definitely in the minority. I don't know what my problem is, could be I put it on too thick, could be I didn't shake it up enough, could be the Deft itself. I am working on a 2nd build. I bought reranch to see if that does any better for me. I'll be sure to report on that. But, I work real slow, so it will be awhile.

[fshboat]

jimd, I have read lots of good things about the reranch. I went with Deft to save a few bucks. This is my first, still unfinished but already thinking about doing another one. Guess this can get addictive.

[Old Cane]

Yeah, you'd think that Deft really sucks from reading all these threads. The fact is I'm sure it works for 99% of the people that use it. We only complain when we have problems. For the most part we never hear about it. I think it has something to do with the way a few of us use it. The problem is that it may like working somehow differently than we do. I did my first body and neck with RR and it was just great so I did exactly the same thing with Deft and got different results.