Shellack vs. Tung Oil/Varnish vs. Wax finish advice needed

[gibsonj]

Thanks, Brad.

I may experiment with this, and I'll let you all know. Don't know much about spraying shellac, but from what I've read and from other's experiences, there were two common things to report:

(1) with this low end sprayer, good results were obtained using a 1.8mm needle and no thinning of Zinsser Amber Shellac pre-mixed. Of course, you'd have to experiment when using flakes and mixing your own.

(2) the air coming out of the turbine on this self-contained unit is very warm, so it tended to "pre-heat" the shellac a bit, resulting in more even delivery.

I've always thought that spraying is an "art form". But, seems like this would be a serious time saver if you could master it.

John

[AZ*]

I've obtained what I consider very satisfactory results spraying both shellac and lacquer. For many years I used a DeVilbiss JGA high pressure suction gun with a fine tip. I switched to a DeVilbiss FinishLine Gravity Feed HVLP gun a few years ago, and I have gotten fine results with less waste and over spray. I have a large commercial 2 stage compressor, so air supply is not a problem.

Spraying finishes requires the right equipment and practice. I took an automotive body painting class at a community college about 20 years ago to learn how to do it. As others have said, temperature and viscosity are very important. I always test on a piece of scrap wood before turning my gun to the actual item being sprayed.

I can't attest to the quality of the spray guns at Harbor Freight. I rarely shop there.