I sprayed clear water based Varathane Poly on this bare maple headstock and it’s beading. Is this a problem? Only sprayed for about 4 seconds.
Attachments
Last edited:
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
Welcome to TalkBass! Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Help! Clear polyurethane spray can is beading on bare maple
- Thread starter Stagelab
- Start date
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Looks to me like the can was too close. Many thin coats are better.
Ok. I think I was about 10” away. I’ll spray at a greater distance.
Is it fine to just keep going with it as is? I’m going to do a second coat of clear, then sand, then apply a decal. Afterwards, 4-6 more coats probably (or more), and sanding to satin in the end.
Will the orange peel go away with all the extra coats?
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
I would sand it down.
Before you spray on the headstock again, practice on a scrap piece. Keep moving.
Before you spray on the headstock again, practice on a scrap piece. Keep moving.
10" away but for how long and how much? My first reaction is also "too much material." Before trying to apply more coats in an attempt to even it out, I suggest sanding back down to bare wood and starting over. Otherwise, you're going to be trapped in the dreaded Overcompensation Feedback Loop of "it still doesn't look good, add more, which makes it look worse, so add MOAR!!!!"
At 10" away on a headstock, two passes at most then let dry. It should be barely perceptible for the first several coats. 10" might even be too far depending on the chemical composition as the particles start drying while they're flying through the air. But any closer and if you're as heavy-handed as I think you are, that puts you back to this position.
It does seem like you're applying too much too quickly.
EDIT: you said 4 seconds in your post that I missed originally. But 4 seconds, if you're counting it out by listening to a ticking clock...that's still a lot of spray in a small area.
At 10" away on a headstock, two passes at most then let dry. It should be barely perceptible for the first several coats. 10" might even be too far depending on the chemical composition as the particles start drying while they're flying through the air. But any closer and if you're as heavy-handed as I think you are, that puts you back to this position.
It does seem like you're applying too much too quickly.
EDIT: you said 4 seconds in your post that I missed originally. But 4 seconds, if you're counting it out by listening to a ticking clock...that's still a lot of spray in a small area.
Last edited:
I had the same problem with this product. I thought the spray head was defective. However, I had no plan B, so I pushed forward. As you have mentioned, farther away and light coats. The product is self leveling somewhat, so a little more forgiving than it may feel at first.
This is my first time using this spray. I needed a water based clear and it’s what I could find. I sanded down to bare wood and applied a new clear coat from a little farther away for 3 seconds tops. Let it dry and sanded it smooth. There’s an area that looks like it got less varnish. Do I need to start over again or will the color even out with more coats? Again, planning to apply a waterslide decal and then a bunch of coats on top.
Attachments
Last edited:
If you're holding the spray down for 3 seconds while just doing that small surface area, I would think that's too much at a time. Just quick little passes at a time and build it up over time.
Edit: Also, I tend to like to move the piece around that I'm working on so that if I'm missing a certain spot, when I flip it around (say 180 degrees), the with the same technique you should be hitting the missed area and less so on the part that was previously getting missed. It should even out over time with many layers and some sanding.
Edit: Also, I tend to like to move the piece around that I'm working on so that if I'm missing a certain spot, when I flip it around (say 180 degrees), the with the same technique you should be hitting the missed area and less so on the part that was previously getting missed. It should even out over time with many layers and some sanding.
Good advice, thanks. Did you see my last post? Do you think that circled area will even out with more coats and sanding, or do I need to start over again?
That spot looks like the effect of uneven drying/curing and subsequent sanding that essentially ripped away what was there while leaving the remainder of its surrounding material. By "let it dry," was that to the touch, the interval on the label of the can, or another time span? I ask because the pattern circled looks a lot like what happens when sanding something that wasn't ready and didn't have enough thorough adhesion.
Given the time lapse between posts (about 5 hours from the first photo to the next), I'm thinking you might be rushing a bit out of frustration. I've been there, and it's a constant struggle
I waited an hour for it to dry. The can said it dries to the touch in 30min and recommends waiting an hour before addtl coats. Sounds like I should sand to bare wood. Is that right?That spot looks like the effect of uneven drying/curing and subsequent sanding that essentially ripped away what was there while leaving the remainder of its surrounding material. By "let it dry," was that to the touch, the interval on the label of the can, or another time span? I ask because the pattern circled looks a lot like what happens when sanding something that wasn't ready and didn't have enough thorough adhesion.
Given the time lapse between posts (about 5 hours from the first photo to the next), I'm thinking you might be rushing a bit out of frustration. I've been there, and it's a constant struggle
Dry to the touch and ready to re-coat, and cured hard enough to sand are 2 different things. I'd look at fully cured tine for the product, wait that long, sand it with the 600 till it's flat. Shouldn't matter if you don't go all the way back to bare, just need a flat surface to keep building on.
One pass from depression of the nozzle to release should be so quick that you can't even measure it, particularly for something as small as a headstock.
Trying to describe a physical motion in text, if the headstock was viewed vertically in front of you, you'd hold the can pointing to the left of the headstock outside of its outer edge, depress the nozzle and move to the right. Not even a second that you can measure. Then move down a tad and starting from where you are on the right, move back to the left with a barely-a-second time lapse. And so on, back and forth in a squared zig-zag pattern -- left to right, down, right to left, down, left to right.....
The coat that's left should barely be noticeable.
Let that sit for the hour the label recommends then repeat that barely-noticeable misting. It'd probably take about several repeats for it to start looking like a solid coat, visually. But stop after about 3 cycles and let it sit overnight. Come back to it in the morning and check out how it did. You may find that you can get away with more in a session, but start slower until you dial in your pattern. As you said, this is your first time using this particular product. You just need time to get to know it.
(plus environmental conditions where you are will also play a role)
Trying to describe a physical motion in text, if the headstock was viewed vertically in front of you, you'd hold the can pointing to the left of the headstock outside of its outer edge, depress the nozzle and move to the right. Not even a second that you can measure. Then move down a tad and starting from where you are on the right, move back to the left with a barely-a-second time lapse. And so on, back and forth in a squared zig-zag pattern -- left to right, down, right to left, down, left to right.....
The coat that's left should barely be noticeable.
Let that sit for the hour the label recommends then repeat that barely-noticeable misting. It'd probably take about several repeats for it to start looking like a solid coat, visually. But stop after about 3 cycles and let it sit overnight. Come back to it in the morning and check out how it did. You may find that you can get away with more in a session, but start slower until you dial in your pattern. As you said, this is your first time using this particular product. You just need time to get to know it.
(plus environmental conditions where you are will also play a role)
I'd personally try to sand back a bit if you're only a coat or 2 in and it's like that. Might as well just start with a clean slate then try to fix a potential problem area by adding more spray.
Ned's advice above is important too. The timing on the spray can is really only a recommendation but depending on the environment it might take a lot longer to actually dry.
I've been refinishing guitars and basses for over 20 years. I'm not a fan of water base finishes. Most of the water base clears I've been around, are designed to be put over a base coat. IMHO water and wood just don't mix. Seems like a possibility for future delamination. As for your predicament, looks like too much material put on too fast.
