How To Use a Lacquer Finish on Wood for Staining Your Woodworking Projects

Using lacquer to finish your wood piece can provide you a nice clear coat that is durable and attractive. This will ensure your wood piece lasts and always has a nice luster to it.

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Knowing how to lacquer wood is like fine art. If you apply it too heavily, it will gum and look uneven. Applying it too light will not provide you the true finish you are looking for. Follow this handy guide when you are applying lacquer for the best results.

How to Use a Lacquer Finish on Wood

1. Preparing Your Wood for Lacquer
Start with sandpaper to smooth your wood piece and remove any imperfections that show on the surface. This will also help to remove any lacquer or any other finish that was used on your wood project previously.

2. Applying Your First Lacquer Coat
Use even strokes to cover the piece. This will be your base coat and will require a solid even coat that is not too thick or too light. Coverage should be to the entire surface without any missing areas.

3. Spraying Lacquer

* Use an HLVP Sprayer: You will need a HLVP sprayer for the application. This uses an air pressure system that requires an open, well-ventilated area for coating your wood project.
* Sprayer Distance: The distance you hold the sprayer at from the wood is critical. Too far away and the lacquer spreads in the air and doesn’t cover your wood piece. Also, holding your sprayer too close will create a thick layer of lacquer that drips and runs as you work.
* Spray in Lengthwise Motion: Once you have found your sweet spot to cover your wood piece with lacquer, you will need work in a lengthwise motion. Move your sprayer along the surface of the wood piece, overlapping the lacquer on each pass.
* Preferred Temperature: You also need to keep in mind the temperature you are spraying your lacquer in. If at all possible, you don’t want the temperature to be above 65 degrees or the humidity to be above 65%.

Dry Time and Prepping for Another Lacquer Coat

Once you have applied your first coat of lacquer, you need to allow ample drying time before any additional coats are added just like paint. It will take several hours for the lacquer to dry. Make sure it is not tacky to the touch before you add another layer.

Applying Multiple Lacquer Coats

To apply another coat of lacquer to your wood project, you simply repeat the steps for applying lacquer either as a spray application or using your paintbrush. Repeat the process until you have the desired look to your lacquer piece that you are trying to achieve.

Finishing Your Lacquer Application

After you have finished applying the multiple coats of lacquer to your wood piece, you will need to use steel wool and a pumice stone to complete the lacquer application. This will provide a nice shine to your wood project and make your lacquer finish as smooth as possible. If you want to prolong the life of your project, you can also consider laminating wood

[joshuahickman]

I just attempted to apply lacquer just by following the directions on the can...man. Rust-Oleum doesn't tell you half the things I needed to know to apply this stuff. I've basically destroyed a dresser lol... we'll see if I can still save it.

Thank you for the great video and all the helpful info.

[CM-bjhr]

Thanks man, I'm building a bed for the wife and I and found this very helpful!

[jaydwy]

Thank you for this video, I have been trying to lacquer a table and chairs for about 3 weeks and its driven me insane!

[anthonylarson]

I really like your videos. Thank you for making your videos. I have a question please. I put some spray on lacquer on a wooden chest that I made a few years ago and I wish that I had finished it differently. Now I want to put something on top of that lacquer without removing it especially because if there’s a bunch of corners, that would be a huge pain in the neck can I just put Polly on top of the lacquer? What if I tried to put staying on top of the spray lacquer from five years ago? Thank you so much.

[m.m.land_YT]

5:00 You show us the rubbing compound. But what type of polisher do you use? And do you do this only after the final coat?

[algreen]

So im a beginer.I have a plain MDF board i spread Polyeurethane on by brush or sponge.Then i wait for it to dry then spray paint the white color after drying i spray the Laquer .! Correct?

[jimbo]

I did an epoxy table top. Nothing fancy. I wanted to coat the bottom half and top with two coats of spray lacquer. (Minor experience) I have turtle wax and a buffer is that ok? The bottom half is rustinumlum paint

[gemmarhind]

Will this be durable enough for outdoor elements? I made my little girl a plywood house and was hoping I could protect it easily to be able to have it outdoors while keeping a nice finish

[tfriedmann]

Thanks for this tutorial. In the end, when you mention rubbing out the finish with 0000 steel wool, you mentioned using paint thinner. I've also seen it suggested to sand with a wet-dry 320 (or higher) grit pad with soapy water to rub out the finish. Do you recommend this, and how is it different than using paint thinner?

[bryanalonso]

Will a regular mask and working outside help as much as having those special masks?

[MadCritter]

I’ve heard that with spray lacquers, you get an orange peel texture that needs to be sanded down. Is this true? If so, how do I go about sanding it?

[lourias]

Lacquer us SUPER THICK!!!!
it dries FAST!
you MUST THIN ITi finally got a decent finish with an 80% thinner and 20% Lacquer. Temp was only around 65°F !!!
...if you need to take an edge off or a drip, just use straight thinner, but carefully.

[ASuperBee]

HVLP??? Look like a pressure pot to me..Otherwise, thanx for the content!

[claudiagabaldon]

We put lacquer on and it’s been 3 hours and not even close to drying. Do you know why? We live in NM high desert so it’s not humid here.

[gibby]

you talk to much, and still did not SHOW US HOW TO DO IT AS YOUR DISCIPTION SAYS