Dust in High Gloss Catalyzed Lacquer

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We spay ML Campbell products, catalyzed lacquer, Kristal, using Kremlin system. We have a spray both, in a separate part of the building, fabrication is in the different part of building. We clean the spay booth a day before spraying. Wet down floor before spraying.
We are getting dust in Gloss Finish.
What have you done to eliminate dust in high gloss finish?

Matt

Part of the solution is to force whomever sold the client "gloss" to come help you spray it. That helps reduce this situation.

Having suffered greatly at the hands of several modest size gloss jobs, here's my take.

Use slow reducers/retarders at a bare minimum, which may require some experimentation to avoid orangepeel or solvent pop. You need it to flash off somewhat quickly, but with just enough time to lay flat.

We tend not to give minor dust too much attention until the final coat. We hose the whole spray booth down soaking wet with a wide fan nozzle, then immediately spray everything it's final coat, and once it's gotten enough flash that the majority of vapors are gone, we kill the exhaust fan, and walk away until the next day.

Our greatest struggle hasn't been dust but rather making the underlying sanding scratches go away, even when using 600 grit.

Dennis

I would never expect to get a perfect high gloss finish right off the spray gun. I would sand the surface up to about 600 and than wet sand up to 3000 or 4000 grit and finally buff w/ some polishing compound. Any dust you get at the start will be removed with sanding and polishing. There is a great deal of hand work in a high gloss finish and you have to charge the customer accordingly.

John DC

[X] View Member Profile Name: John DC Forum threads this member is participating in: Finishing Forum   Dust in High Gloss Catalyzed Lacquer   : 04/24   Re: Dust in High Gloss Catalyzed Lacquer   : 04/24   Re: Dust in High Gloss Catalyzed Lacquer   : 04/26 Member's Business Categories: Architectural Millwork - Custom Millwork Cabinets - Custom Cabinets Cabinets - Kitchen & Bath Cabinets Member

we are buffing now and trying to spray and deliver gloss without buffing. I know I cant get rid of dust 100%, just trying to minimize it much as possible. thanks for your response

rich c.

No idea what kind of booth you have, and what kind of make up air system you have, if any. More info would let us make suggestions.

Leo G

Wipe your substrate down with Denatured Alcohol before you spray. It'll take the static out of the substrate.

Krystal is static by itself, it attracts dust.

Matt

Interesting idea Leo, on the denat alc wipe down.

We will try that on the next gloss job we get.

Rick Mosher

You don't say what it is you are spraying, casework, tables, furniture etc. but I find that drying racks work great for doors and flat parts. Put an unfinished board or piece of cardboard in the top of the rack and stack your parts below it as soon as you spray them. Very little dust will settle on them as they dry even with slow drying finishes. There are a bunch of different racks from purchased to shop made. Do a search in the Knowledge Base and you will find a lot of ideas.

As for tables I would make a "garage" out of scrap wood and cardboard just a little higher that the table top is on the cart you spray it on and right after spraying it I would roll it under the cardboard. I get very little dust in the finish this way even when I was spraying in some small shops right out in the mess.

Even after all the trouble there will inevitably be a few nibs in the finish. I wait until the next day and remove them with a nib file. (Konig makes one I like best)

Since you are doing an "off the gun" gloss finish you could also buff lightly without wet sanding which will give you a smooth surface but will not remove any orange peel. Not wet sanding will save a ton of time.

KO163 Konig Metal Planer

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John DC

[X] View Member Profile Name: John DC Forum threads this member is participating in: Finishing Forum   Dust in High Gloss Catalyzed Lacquer   : 04/24   Re: Dust in High Gloss Catalyzed Lacquer   : 04/24   Re: Dust in High Gloss Catalyzed Lacquer   : 04/26 Member's Business Categories: Architectural Millwork - Custom Millwork Cabinets - Custom Cabinets Cabinets - Kitchen & Bath Cabinets Member