Top plate prep for lacquer

[Oldlistener50]

Got my Seduction kit... whoopee!  I want to do the top plate in deep-gloss black lacquer.  Will cleaning with an alcohol wipe be sufficient and not adversely react with the lacquer?

[Doc B.]

Alcohol will be fine. However, lacquer is a thin finish and the graining might show through. If you want a deep gloss you might want to sand the panel with progressively finer wet or dry paper before you shoot it.

[sl-15]

i am no expert on this but you might want to consider using a primer first. this might depend on the lacquer you want to use. but generally a primer makes the paint stick better, but it also fills voids. that way you do not have to go crazy on the sanding. i am in the middle of restoring an old Rek-O-Kut turntable and was sanding of the old paint on the top plate. there were two layers of primer underneath and now that everything is stripped you really see more imperfections in the top plate then before. try out your paint and/or primer on the underside first in one small spot were you do not have to write numbers. that way you can tell your results before really going for it. acetone would be a good prep for the top plate. it will remove grease and oily residue the best but it can leave some residue of its own so it would be good to follow up with denatured or isopropyl alcohol. if you do not want to go for acetone which is kinda nasty and can be pricy use dish soap and water and then follow up with isopropyl alcohol. hope this helps.

[Oldlistener50]

Yes, great ideas thanks guys.  I also thought about the primer route, I need to find some primer that can be used underneath lacquer.

Thanks.

[lextek]

Great idea of high-gloss black should look awesome with glowing tubes.

[Noskipallwd]

Hello, I've used BIN Bullseye shellac based primer with good results. It works well on metal or wood. I use it to prime MDF, which is always a PITA but this makes it a little more bearable.

Cheers,
Shawn P.

[Doc B.]

+1, shellac is an excellent primer for lacquer, at least that's my experience using it on wood.

[Oldlistener50]

Well, it's primed and painted.  Used the BIN primer and Rustoleum black lacquer.  Came out really nice!  Pic isn't that good due to reflections but it has a nice piano black gloss to it.

Gonna let it bake on for a few days before I touch it (sitting elevated in a box on top of one of my radiators).
(https://forum.bottlehead.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi302.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fnn102%2Fcsa_forever_2008%2FSeduction%2520Phono%2520Preamp%2FDSCN0491.jpg&hash=9eb854d4f15a09df161dda078568003456c936ee)

[4krow]

Thanks for showing the results, I have found that painting/finishing is the biggest challenge of my projects. Maybe I missed it, but how far away did you hold the spray can, and how many coats?

[Grainger49]

Give the edges a light touch. Otherwise they will be seen and stick out like a sore thumb.

The top coat looks good!  I think all the holes in the top plate are going to be filled.  I don't think they will need touching up.  Or you could just go over them with a black Sharpie.  The outer edges might take that pretty well if you don't feel like jeopardizing the top plate finish. 

[Oldlistener50]

I will drop the plate into the base and check the edges, thanks Grainger.  Didn't notice that when I test-fitted it into the base (which has been glued and is curing overnight) but will double-check.

I held the can about 6" away.  A thin coat, sanding with 320-grit, then a couple heavy coats until it really shined.

What's interesting, it's been about 6 hours since I painted it, and the gloss seems to be getting deeper as time goes by.

[Doc B.]

There was a time when the rabbet in the base was for thinner plates and the thicker plates we went to would sometimes stand a bit proud. I think that is not so much an issue with the current production as the rabbet is now deeper.

[lextek]

You can still see the edge at certain angles.  I had to shoot the edges of my Crack.  That just sounds wrong.

[4krow]

If you are brave maybe you could use a 1/8" square brass rod, cut the ends at 45 degrees, and use them as edging sitting atop the plate. It would have to be done almost perfectly, but I bet it would look great. I enjoy using brass in cases like. It is easy to work with and looks pretty classy. In my last project, I did no more than to replace cheap black screws with small brass bolts. Worth the effort.