Spraying Deft Gloss

[TelZilla]

A question from my first refin. :

At this point, I'm spraying the Deft clear gloss. My question is about how much Deft to put on with each coat.

The can says to make passes from 6-10 inches away, but I've been spraying from farther away (~18 inches) and sort of "misting" it on. I want to avoid runs, so I'm trying to apply more coats with less Deft in each coat.

My question has to do with the pattern I'm seeing. Ususally after a coat, I can still sort of see the deft droplets (i.e., it's not a real glossy appearance). I figure I'm going to do many coats (at least two cans of Deft) and I'm going to wet sand and do a final polish, so those droplets will eventually run together and produce a glossy finish.

So am I right or should I be "wetting out" more on my coats?

[j_n_waco]

I'm doing my first body (a squire strat) for practice before I build a tele. More knowledgeable people will come along, but wanted to let you know not to be too afraid of runs. The deft in a can does seem to be more run prone than the paint, but if you get a run, don't try to clean it up until the laquer dries. I believe it's pretty important to get a fairly wet coat on the body. I had runs when I sprayed, let them dry, then gently wet sanded them flat (key word - gently). The next coat seemed to melt this all together. So far, I'm pleased with how the body is going using Deft, but I have lower standards than the artists here, at least for my first go, and I'm pleased. I will say that when people say that deft needs time to cure, they are 100% right. Once you're through spraying the final coat, it stays soft for a couple of weeks. I don't think you'll be disappointed with the Deft.

I've gone through one can of deft so far. I let it dry a week and attempted to buff it using McGuires. It buffed to a really nice glossy shine. Now I have to clean the buffing agents off and spray at least another can of the stuff to get a good deep finish.

[Jack Wells]

At 18 inches you are definitely spraying mist coats. That's not the way I'd do it. Here's my theory on spray painting ......... take it or leave it. If you start by spraying heavy wet coats you are going to get a run ......... that's a guarantee because the lacquer is so thin. Therefore I start with light coats probably from about 12 inches. After I spray a few of these light coats I start to spray heavier wetter coats. When you have a few coats laid down and spray additional coats, the previous coats are going to suck the solvent out of the fresh coat and almost instantly thicken up that fresh coat making it less likely to run. After I've got a good buildup of coats I'm probably spraying from 4 to 6 inches......... but I'm moving fast. Each pass overlaps half of the previous pass. You will develop you own spraying technique with practice but I definitely think you need to get away from misting.

[TelZilla]

Originally Posted by j_n_waco

I've gone through one can of deft so far. I let it dry a week and attempted to buff it using McGuires. It buffed to a really nice glossy shine. Now I have to clean the buffing agents off and spray at least another can of the stuff to get a good deep finish.

Thanks for the response. My standards are low (compared to the more experienced painters here) for the first as well.

So after your first can, did you wet sand before the Meguiars? And what will you clean the polish with?

[Jack Wells]

I really don't see why you would sand and buff out the finish then spray additonal coats. I spray a couple of cans ....... let it cure then sand and polish.

[j_n_waco]

Originally Posted by TelZilla

Thanks for the response. My standards are low (compared to the more experienced painters here) for the first as well.

So after your first can, did you wet sand before the Meguiars? And what will you clean the polish with?

jwells is right - I only did this (polishing & buffing) because I am one impatient man. There's no need at all to do anything in between coats unless you get a run. I apologize if you thought I was recommending this. Definitely listen to jwells.

[Axis29]

18 inches is definately too far away. What's happening is the lacquer is drying before it reaches your guitar. Lacquer needs to be wet so that each layer will chemically bond to the layer below it. The droplets you see are called orange peel and will require more sanding in the long run.

Wet sanding between coats is an old trick with lacquer and will eventually give a you better finish. However, you can get very staisfactory finishes without it.

The first car I ever painted we wetsanded between every three or four coats... with 18 coats (nien or so of clear alone), it looked wet all the time. However, I just finished a hand carved mantel and used Deft as the final clear coat. I didn't sand it at all. And used about three coats or so. It looks nice and shiny, but certainly not wet!

Don't overthink it. It's a rattle can and made for the lowest common denominator. If you do get drips, like's been stated, just give it a soft wet sanding till it's smooth and ligh recoat and you'll be good to go.

Good luck,