Finishing

I have been finishing my boxes with spray lacquer without much success. I sand up to 220 grit and then spray a coat of lacquer. I then wet sand with 320 grit and spray.
I then wet sand at 400 grit. I get a great glass like sheen. Very professional looking. I then take the box inside to cure, because it has been very humid here. But even after a few days, the lacquer doesn't seem to fully cure. If I touch the finish, I still get fingerprints. I'm thinking of going back to the Watco danish oil because I've good results with that. But some of my customers do prefer the glossy sheen of lacquer. Ive also read some of the woods I use, like cocobolo, shouldn't be finished with danish oil because the wood is already so oily.
Any thoughts???
Thanks, Kevin

As you have found out lacquer doesn't dry well in humid weather, the solvents flash off too quickly. Using a retarder to add to the thinner may help,but the best solution is to have a dedicated finishing area that can be de-humidified or wait until the humidity goes down.Danish oil (BLO,varnish & thinner) should not be used on very oily woods. If you want the gloss with more protection than lacquer make some wiping varnish(mix Sherwin Williams fast dry or Pratt & Lambert 38 or Waterlox original with mineral spirits & wipe it on. You could call it Boxers Hand Applied Finish. You can apply 3 coats in one day. Hope this helps
Regards
Jerry

How about this one:

I have an old platform swing..... it is made of some sort of oak (my guess is red) that had one of those finished that maybe lasted a season or two 30 years ago. From what I can tell it must have sat on a deck or something as the feet are in good condition. From what I have learned is that it has been stored for the last 20+ years or so.

Our backyard has no "oak" but for the most part painted items so I think I want to paint it..... so any good idea how to prep weathered oak and finish with paint? And yes it will be staying outside and the best I could do is throw a tarp over it in the IL winters.....

Ed

I appreciate the advice. Knowledge is a wonderful thing.
I was wondering what the mixing ratios are for the homemade wiping varnish.
Kevin

The first thing i would do is clean with oxalic acid,if you have trouble locating use deck cleaner(check ingredients to make sure oxalic acid is main one.). This will remove the gray weathering and any black marks from rust. You might be surprized at how it cleans up. If you intend to paint scuff sand with 150 g remove sanding dust and apply an oil based primer. When that is dry use a high quality oil based paint. Laytex paint should not be used on furniture that will be sat on or books will be stored on.
Regards
Jerry

Start with a 50-50 mixture, you can adjust the amounts to suit the job. More protection -more varnish less MS. As an example Formby's tung oil finish(actually a wiping varnish) has a higher percentage of MS. By the way it doesn't contain any tung oil either.

Regards
Jerry

Gotcha. Thanks so much for the help.
Kevin

You are certainly welcome,glad to be of some help.

Regards
Jerry