Finishing and Refinishing

[Al-in-OH]

Hi everyone!

I'm hoping some of you can help me figure out a problem that I had with finishing a rocking chair.  I have an old child's rocking chair that I am refinishing.  I completely stripped the old finish off.  I stained it and put on a coat of spay lacquer (spray can).  A couple days later I put a coat of poly urethane over the lacquer (don't ask me why I did this).  The next day I went outside and there is a hazy-white look to the finish.  Some of it is so bad it looks like a sprayed white paint on the chair.  I plan on stripping it all back off and starting over.

I'm just curious if anyone know why it did this?  Was it from using 2 different clear coats?  Both cans of finish were bought earlier this summer.

Thanks!

Al

[Fred Hargis]

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Al in OH wrote:

I'm just curious if anyone know why it did this?  Was it from using 2 different clear coats?  Both cans of finish were bought earlier this summer.

Thanks!

Al

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My first reaction was that the lacquer blushed. This is caused by moisture being trapped in the film after it has dried somewhat. When I have this problem, I find another coat of lacquer usually clears it up. But I'm not sure how the coat of varnish on top will effect this (blushing) or it may have even been the cause. Someone much more knowledgeable than I will be along with an educated opinion on it, but your finshing schedule may be part (or all) of the problem.

[amateur60]

What brands and exact names on the labels were the products you used?  Sometimes things aren't always quite as they seem with finishing materials since marketing departments seem to write the labels and directions without much if any input from the technical side. 

[3-j]

One thing, Al, is to forget about the poly varnish.  I've used shellac with great results on furniture.  Alkyd varnish will serve you well, too.

[Al-in-OH]

amature60-I know the poly was Zar brand and I'm not sure about the laquer (I already pitched the can).  All I know is that I will never mix types/brands of finishes again.

3-j The only experience that I've had with shellac is an old vanity that I refinished.  The old finish was shellac, so I stripped it using denatured alchohol.  I then put on a couple coats of shellac.  I like shellac, its just not as easy to use.  I don't have enough experience with it to do a rocking chair, alot of pieces.  The next table type project that I do I am going to try shellac again since they usually have alot of large flat pieces.

Thanks!

[Howard Acheson]

>>>  All I know is that I will never mix types/brands of finishes again.

Unless you are really experienced, it is always a good idea to avoid mixing finishing types and even brands.  If you have to mix them, ALWAYS test them out on scrap material.