How To Lacquer Wood Step By Step Guide

You don’t want to be a novice at lacquering wood. But if you follow these tips, you will soon become an expert in no time.

Let’s start by making sure you understand that spraying or brushing it on is possible.

Spraying is easy and requires little skill. But, who am I to tell you not to take the challenge of brushing it on.

We’ll look at both ways in this post.

General Lacquering Rules

1. Find a nice spray gun- you can get these fairly cheap, and don’t underestimate the power of a good spray gun.
2. Compression should be rated 4CFM and 100 PSI to be sure you get a nice finish on the wood you’re looking to work with.
3. Consider the weather- you MUST know how humid it is and how much water vapor is in the air. There are plenty of days that you have no business lacquering wood- check the weather report before doing this.
4. The temperature should be between 65 and 65 degrees.
5. Avoid days when there are lots of bugs around- they LOVE lacquer.
6. Avoid dust at all costs- this will create a bumpy feel in the lacquer.
7. Avoid direct sunlight- this causes the lacquer to blister, which creates an ugly piece of wood.
8. Avoid contacting the wood with silicones or oils. Wash your hands often and thoroughly.
9. Ventilation – If you aren’t going to be doing this outside, make sure that your shop has adequate ventilation.

Let’s have a look at the brush-on method…

How To Brush Lacquer

1. Make a sealant coat first by mixing lacquer thinner with your lacquer in an a bowl (half-and-half mixture).
2. You need a good brush. Make sure it has soft bristles that can hold a lot of laquer.
3. Make one stroke at a time, slowly and evenly across the entire piece you are working on. Do not apply multiple coats of the sealant coat. This will cause too many brush strokes.
4. Use a piece 320 grit sandpaper to roughen up the wood. (lightly)
5. Take a tack-cloth and wipe all residue from sanding.
6. Make sure to first „damp“ your brush with lacquer.
7. Then, dip the brush into the lacker and let the brush soak up as much lacquer as possible.
8. Applying lacquer with a brush properly is as simple as keeping the brush on the same side.
9. It’s important that you have the brush full enough so that you don’t have to refill in the middle of one swipe across the wood- you want to be able to go from one end to the other in one stroke.
10. As your first coat is drying, you’ll be tempted to fill in areas that look like you didn’t cover well enough- do not give in to the temptation. These should be left alone, and you can apply another coat after the first coat has dried. It’ll be fine. Promise.
11. Do not clean your brush well between coats. Instead, dip it in lacquer thinner and wipe it on a towel. It’ll be ok to use it again without fully cleaning it.
12. Between each coat, use the 320 grit Sandpaper. Before applying the next coat, remove any residue with the tack-cloth.
13. Apply as many coats as you want- depending on how dark you want your wood to be.
14. To „sand“ the wood, you should use steel wool or pumice rock. These materials are better at removing imperfections that sandpaper can’t. The finished wood will have a beautiful sheen.

The spray on method may be the best option for you if the brush-on method is not your thing.

How To Spray Lacquer

1. Use the
2. Wait 30 minutes and use 0000-grade steel wool to buff it out a bit.
3. Adjust the air regulator to 30-PSI.
4. Fill up the spray gun with no more than 30% thinner and the rest lacquer.
5. First, practice spraying on a piece of wood.
6. Apply the wet coat to all surfaces of the wood.
7. It’s guaranteed that you will have some overspray-it’s pretty much impossible not to, but be as careful as possible to not have too much.
8. Give the steel wool a second chance. If lacquer gets caught in the steel wool, you didn’t wait long enough, so put it all away and try again tomorrow with the steel wool.
9. Continue with steps 7 through 8 and apply three more wet coats.
10. Apply two coats of lacquer at a ratio of 2/1.
11. Leave it all alone for two days.
12. Steel wool can be used to remove all dust and bugs. -after it has sat for two days.
13. Wet some sand paper (1000-grit) either with straight water or a couple drops of dishwashing soap. Use this to rub the wood.
14. To polish the surface, use 4F pumice (lubricate it with water first). Grab an old cotton t-shirt to help you with this step.
15. Use soap, water or paint thinner to clean the lacquer. Then polish it.

That’s it! Whether you are brushing or spraying, follow these few simple tips for the best final result.