spraying clear acrylic on bare wood

soyale

Well-known member
hello all,

first of all, i just want to say i've done tons of research on here and appreciate so much that y'all are willing to share your knowledge the way that you do.

secondly, from that research, i've deduced that i do not have the time or the budget to do this "properly."

third, i'm just talking about a piddly little 8" extension made from a lowe's dowel. its for personal use on my production cue with a diy plug and tap job.

okay, so.

rigging my drill to my bench vise and using a clamp to regulate the trigger speed, i brushed on some triplethick polyurethane and let it spin and dry for a while. realizing that my brush marks had completely ruined the extension i've been working on for months, i tried wiping it on. that seemed better. however, i'd ruined it. so i try sanding it down. that actually made it look fine! nice smooth even poly finish all over. but i overdid it and got some of the poly to peel up toward the top end. after rubbing it with vinegar and peeling away for a while i went to bed.

woke up this morning and just roasted it with 60 grit until the poly was gone. marred it good, used 220 to get it mostly back to smooth. luckily i had left the extension a bit large so its probably flush or close to flush with my cue at this point.

i dont want to do the polyurethane again, not because i don't think it will work fine and serve the purpose, but because if i end up peeling a little piece up again i'll end up tossing this thing out of the window.

so, eluding back to the research i've done on this site, all the prepwork that it takes to get a proper clear coat makes it pretty obvious that you can't just spray on a clear acrylic to bare wood and get a good result that you can sell.

buuuuuuut can somebody explain to me why? like, what happens, if you spin a dowel, and spray it with clear coat over and over again?

again, this is for my own personal use and will probably not look great in the end. i could just leave it unfinished and it would serve its purpose just fine. so any clear coating at all is going to be a benefit as long as i don't make it worse, or sticky.

and yes, down the road, when i have the money and time to dump into this, i'd like to go through all the proper channels and make something proper. i have an 8" bocote round sitting right here that i could have used for this but decided a lowes dowel would suffice, considering.

if all of this slackassed shortcutting talk didn't send you running yet, would you care to give your 2c on spraying acrylic to bare wood?
 
Coat with shellac (bullseye brand sanding sealer). Apply several coats, sanding in between until pores are filled. Rub on with a lint free cloth. After, smooth with sandpaper until about 600 grit. Shoot with automotive clear from a rattle can. Probably four medium coats. Cut and buff until happy.
 
hello all,

first of all, i just want to say i've done tons of research on here and appreciate so much that y'all are willing to share your knowledge the way that you do.

secondly, from that research, i've deduced that i do not have the time or the budget to do this "properly."

third, i'm just talking about a piddly little 8" extension made from a lowe's dowel. its for personal use on my production cue with a diy plug and tap job.

okay, so.

rigging my drill to my bench vise and using a clamp to regulate the trigger speed, i brushed on some triplethick polyurethane and let it spin and dry for a while. realizing that my brush marks had completely ruined the extension i've been working on for months, i tried wiping it on. that seemed better. however, i'd ruined it. so i try sanding it down. that actually made it look fine! nice smooth even poly finish all over. but i overdid it and got some of the poly to peel up toward the top end. after rubbing it with vinegar and peeling away for a while i went to bed.

woke up this morning and just roasted it with 60 grit until the poly was gone. marred it good, used 220 to get it mostly back to smooth. luckily i had left the extension a bit large so its probably flush or close to flush with my cue at this point.

i dont want to do the polyurethane again, not because i don't think it will work fine and serve the purpose, but because if i end up peeling a little piece up again i'll end up tossing this thing out of the window.

so, eluding back to the research i've done on this site, all the prepwork that it takes to get a proper clear coat makes it pretty obvious that you can't just spray on a clear acrylic to bare wood and get a good result that you can sell.

buuuuuuut can somebody explain to me why? like, what happens, if you spin a dowel, and spray it with clear coat over and over again?

again, this is for my own personal use and will probably not look great in the end. i could just leave it unfinished and it would serve its purpose just fine. so any clear coating at all is going to be a benefit as long as i don't make it worse, or sticky.

and yes, down the road, when i have the money and time to dump into this, i'd like to go through all the proper channels and make something proper. i have an 8" bocote round sitting right here that i could have used for this but decided a lowes dowel would suffice, considering.

if all of this slackassed shortcutting talk didn't send you running yet, would you care to give your 2c on spraying acrylic to bare wood?
Check in your area for
AUTOMOTIVE REFINISH SUPPLY STORE....
THEY SHOULD HAVE SOME BRAND OF AUTOMOTIVE CLEAR COAT IN A RATTLE CAN,
AS ALREADY MENTIONED...
I USE "SMART" BRAND CLEAR
WILL TYPICALLY TAKE A FEW COATS-
LIGHT COATS-
ALLOW TO DRY 8-10 MINUTES IN BETWEEN,
BUY YOURSELF SOME WET AND DRY SAND PAPER THERE AT THE STORE AS WELL-
1500 GRIT AND SMALL BOTTLE RUBBING COMPOUND'
GET A FEW COATS OF CLEAR,
MAYBE A COUPLE PAINT JOBS ON THE EXTENSION
LET IT CURE FOR A FEW DAYS -
LIGHTLY SAND SMOOTH WITH THE WET AND DRY SAND PAPER THEN BUFF THE FINISH
 
Coat with shellac (bullseye brand sanding sealer). Apply several coats, sanding in between until pores are filled. Rub on with a lint free cloth. After, smooth with sandpaper until about 600 grit. Shoot with automotive clear from a rattle can. Probably four medium coats. Cut and buff until happy.
Shellac is one of the very best primers/sealers ever produced. Topcoat with just about anything. Been using it for more than 40 years. Great advice here to the OP... One thing he should know, dry to the touch and cure time are completely different. If it is not totally cured the finish could develop cracks due to outgassing. NO I am not a cue maker but have applied finishes since I was a teenager.
 
Shellac is one of the very best primers/sealers ever produced. Topcoat with just about anything. Been using it for more than 40 years. Great advice here to the OP... One thing he should know, dry to the touch and cure time are completely different. If it is not totally cured the finish could develop cracks due to outgassing. NO I am not a cue maker but have applied finishes since I was a teenager.

The old woodworkers adage: Shellac sticks to everything...everything sticks to shellac.

I've used shellac over 3d printed plastic. Looks great, very durable.
 
So, your own words......

"so, eluding back to the research i've done on this site, all the prepwork that it takes to get a proper clear coat makes it pretty obvious that you can't just spray on a clear acrylic to bare wood and get a good result that you can sell.

buuuuuuut can somebody explain to me why? like, what happens, if you spin a dowel, and spray it with clear coat over and over again? "

Well, if you actually did the research you said you did, and believed what you read....and tried it to the letter, then you would not be asking this question...... You seem to want a perfect finish with little effort on your part, and willing to throw the extension out the window if it's not perfect, BUT you seem to not want to put in the real work it takes to get it as perfect as you want.....so sadly you will not get real answers from actual cuemakers that have spent yrs perfecting their finish techniques, as they tend to share this prized info only to a select few that they feel are worthy, due to their willingness to put in the due diligence required.....for obvious reasons. I for one have spent $100's on different finishes, techniques, etc for yrs before getting where I am happy with my finish work, and have had some awesome guys(God Rest Their Souls) give me pointers, but I had to pass serveral 'tests' if you will, before they helped me, privately.
Dave
 
So, your own words......

"so, eluding back to the research i've done on this site, all the prepwork that it takes to get a proper clear coat makes it pretty obvious that you can't just spray on a clear acrylic to bare wood and get a good result that you can sell.

buuuuuuut can somebody explain to me why? like, what happens, if you spin a dowel, and spray it with clear coat over and over again? "

Well, if you actually did the research you said you did, and believed what you read....and tried it to the letter, then you would not be asking this question...... You seem to want a perfect finish with little effort on your part, and willing to throw the extension out the window if it's not perfect, BUT you seem to not want to put in the real work it takes to get it as perfect as you want.....so sadly you will not get real answers from actual cuemakers that have spent yrs perfecting their finish techniques, as they tend to share this prized info only to a select few that they feel are worthy, due to their willingness to put in the due diligence required.....for obvious reasons. I for one have spent $100's on different finishes, techniques, etc for yrs before getting where I am happy with my finish work, and have had some awesome guys(God Rest Their Souls) give me pointers, but I had to pass serveral 'tests' if you will, before they helped me, privately.
Dave

What's wrong with the shellac and 2k advice provided above? It's not as good as the more complicated methods (which you can easily find documented here and on YouTube), but certainly it's good enough for many purposes. Even the most simple method of properly applying shellac takes some skill to master.

JC has/had a great video somewhere of his finishing process with instrument finish instead of 2k.

For the OP, he should research using a CA coat (superglue). That's often applied by turners to bare wood and will produce a hard and clear finish by itself if applied correctly. YouTube has lots of videos of how to apply it to pen blanks, which isn't far off from the OP's extension application. The fumes can be nasty so beware.
 
What's wrong with the shellac and 2k advice provided above? It's not as good as the more complicated methods (which you can easily find documented here and on YouTube), but certainly it's good enough for many purposes. Even the most simple method of properly applying shellac takes some skill to master.

JC has/had a great video somewhere of his finishing process with instrument finish instead of 2k.

For the OP, he should research using a CA coat (superglue). That's often applied by turners to bare wood and will produce a hard and clear finish by itself if applied correctly. YouTube has lots of videos of how to apply it to pen blanks, which isn't far off from the OP's extension application. The fumes can be nasty so beware.

Though I am not making cues yet (or even close), I am trying to learn whatever I can.

The OP should take a piece of scrap and spray it to see how it comes out.

Making small projects like chalk holders, cue rests, and soon trying joint protectors, I have experimented a little with the finish. Shellac is a wonderful thing, but I didn't like the yellowing of the wood. Especially with woods like purpleheart. I was looking for a clear finish, and had decent luck with clear polyurethane. Poly just takes a long time to build up the coats and you have to go slow to avoid the bubbles.

When I found out about CA I started experimenting. I was liking the results a lot, just as was said beware the fumes. One thing I can't figure out is applying it directly to the wood works so well in those pen videos, but I have not been so lucky. When I put the CA directly on the wood it darkens or stains it, so the grain gets lost. Putting a couple of quick coats of poly first and then the CA came out really nice.

Here you can see on these wenge scraps, the CA made the light grain so dark you can't see the grain anymore.

sunlight
A9AC3C91-2DA1-4450-A34B-261043451FA1.jpeg


LED light
588898D8-6B1B-43E6-94C2-0A592BFE83D0.jpeg
 
Though I am not making cues yet (or even close), I am trying to learn whatever I can.

The OP should take a piece of scrap and spray it to see how it comes out.

Making small projects like chalk holders, cue rests, and soon trying joint protectors, I have experimented a little with the finish. Shellac is a wonderful thing, but I didn't like the yellowing of the wood. Especially with woods like purpleheart. I was looking for a clear finish, and had decent luck with clear polyurethane. Poly just takes a long time to build up the coats and you have to go slow to avoid the bubbles.

When I found out about CA I started experimenting. I was liking the results a lot, just as was said beware the fumes. One thing I can't figure out is applying it directly to the wood works so well in those pen videos, but I have not been so lucky. When I put the CA directly on the wood it darkens or stains it, so the grain gets lost. Putting a couple of quick coats of poly first and then the CA came out really nice.

Here you can see on these wenge scraps, the CA made the light grain so dark you can't see the grain anymore.

sunlight
View attachment 645784

LED light
View attachment 645785

Good testing. I'm not an expert on CA (or anything else for that matter) but maybe you need to sand more and to a higher grit before applying? And then clean with denatured alcohol to remove dust?

I also agree with the shellac yellowing being an issue depending on the underlying wood. Ive been screwing around with different colors of shellac flakes to make use of tinting, but none will ever be as clear as auto coat like 2K.
 
I have no advice, but reading responses. SOMEBODY sure forgot where he started from!
Would this comment be aimed at me, Mike? I really hope not, but If so, I have not forgot where I started from, quite the contrary. When I started here in 2007, I had questions, and many people(that I had no idea about their abilities) had answers, but as time went on, and I tried a lot of those answers, I realized that quite a few people here, names not to be mentioned, intentionally gave bad advice rather than actual help, and I spent $$$ on bad advice, then some great people here, responded behind the scene and corrected the bad advice and gave pointers after they saw I was really trying to learn, rather than begging to be spoonfed info that took others yrs to learn on their own.
How many people that responded here ACTUALLY read what the OP wrote? He is using a drill to drive the extension, so how well will finish application and the sanding go?, how long did he let it dry for, being waterbased poly between sandings? How will he Buff it to get the finish he expects? He already wanted to toss it due to imperfections after only a couple tries, but he also wants a perfect finish....MANY issues will arise from not doing a finish properly, and considering he already said he 'researched it' but still didn't understand why you can't just apply topcoat to bare wood and get awesome results. Just about everything suggested above is out of reach from a beginner without a lathe or any real understanding of finish application, that will achieve the results the OP has already set as acceptable. Just my 1.5 cents.......
Dave
 
It's not a Cue maker only response forum.
People don't always ask the questions in a way they should ask.
And unfortunately, all are welcome to post, good and bad.
It's the world we live in.
If people had to post under thier real names. Something people would associate thier post with, that would cut down on it a bit.
 
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