Achieving Consistency When Spray-Finishing a Large Table
A finisher struggles with keeping his finish from flashing off prematurely when finishing a large piece of furniture. November 29, 2014
Question (WOODWEB Member) :
I'm fairly new with MLC Magnamax. I've tried WB MLC, and decided to switch to solvent base so that I would be able to be able to work with the finishes a bit more. I'm spraying a large sofa table, contemporary styling - very seamless. My problem is the size, it’s 10' long 14" W and 42" H. It has three thick legs that are the full depth of 14" (a lot of real estate to spray at once). I have retarded the finish to get it all sprayed without it flashing, but there are a few spots where it flashed, and I sprayed over that, thus the sheen is a bit off in those places. Is it possible to buff or sand with a high grit and buff it back to where it needs to be? If so, what should I sand it with?
Forum Responses
(Finishing Forum)
From contributor C:
I like to use Abralon pads with mineral spirits misted on for a lube. Wait a while though. Retarded material will take some time for a hard cure. Well, I can't say that for certain since I have not used that exact product.
From Contributor E:
Are you able to re-spray it and mask off some of the areas so that there is less to spray at one time? Buffing is quite difficult because you will have to buff the entire piece to get the same sheen. If you go as high as a 3000 grit trizac paper it will leave a dull finish but it will be flat. Then if you go with a 3M polish you can bring the sheen up. However you need to have a few coats on so that you do not sand or buff through the layers as they will show. I would personally try masking areas off as you work.
From the original questioner:
I ended up masking areas off and spraying a final in sections. It was my original thinking, but a friend thinned down my material and added retarded and said to spray fast, and cut off all air circulation. The overspray was still a problem, and then it just hung there! Although, all my vertical surfaces ended up being good, so I simply taped that off and sprayed again. Taping was key for this table. My friend also has DeKups like I have, but he also bought some kinda of back pressure add-on. Something like that would enable me to push more volume with less air I believe. I can kind of mimic that by putting my finger over the tip, and pull the trigger. This will add air to the material bag and thereby creating pressure to push material through. Its then that I find keeping a consistent PSI on the material is what's needed.
