Yup, it’s definitely an easy choice to work with. I did a video back in the day on how to mix their brushing lacquer to be sprayable. That works pretty well too.
Our local Walmart has it but they have restock issues. When something sells out they seem to not get it back in. They are super slack. 100 % agree on the mask it is harsh! You can force dry it some with a fan. I sand between every few coats with 1200 grit.
Watco is only around 9% solids compared to Mohawk/Behlen (or similar) which are considerably higher. The Watco sands ok and buffs out nice enough but it takes a stupid number of coats to get the build. Depending on how big your project is you may actually be better off buying the good stuff instead of what amounts to a can of Watco solvent and propellant with a few drops of lacquer in it.
Ill start off by saying I'm a professional repair and custom guy. I use watco on EVERYTHING! Over poly finishes perfectly. I lightly sand gloss finishes and use their matte to make satin like finishes with no need for shellac. People love it. But on an unfinished body you can go with or without the shellac. This stuff is super easy to work with and dries super fast compared to other nitro's I've used. Watco all the way.
Yeah. Obviously the need for sealer (in this case shellac) depends on the wood type. Watco isn’t the fastest drying nitro I’ve used, but it gets the job done and it’s easy to get.
I went to woodcraft in search of wipe on poly. The guy at the counter gave me his card and says hes a luthier and recommended Watco satin in a can. He said it works great and highly recommends avoiding poly on a bare neck. I couldn't get a straight answer out of him in terms of "sealing" the raw wood before doing clear over it. I am not sure if I am supposed to. I guess I'm used to painting metal parts and totally lost on how to treat wood before paint lol.
Necks are often made of such tight grained wood that there’s really no need for a sealer. Make sure the neck is sanded smooth and you can likely get away with just a few coats of the satin watco.
Hi Brad, thank you for all the videos and tips. Yo have helped me greatly getting back into this hobby. I just finished my build and sprayed about 8 coats of watco clear lacquer 7 days ago. I tried the finger nail test and it's rock hard with no indent. Is that normal as you say it should take about 1 month. Hoping I can start polishing.
It's good stuff. I used the Watco Satin on my last build, on the back of the neck and back and sides of the body. It worked quite well. I really liked that I didn't have to level sand and polish it!
curious the can says to NOT apply over shellac and I was wondering if I should seal my coffee table reno ...1- I glued oak veneer ... 2- I stained it with oil based stain... now what??? do I apply the shellac to seal it before using WATCO Lacquer or stright to lacquer... lacquer is spray can EXACTLY like in the video (satin)
Hello Brad, I have been watching your videos to try to figure out how I can fix a "Goodwill" guitar. I found one from 1973 and the finish needs some fixing. The back finish is really thin - can I spray over it with this product to fix it? What would you recommend?
I sprayed one layer over freshly sanded wood and it turned it with a slight color after 3 hours dry time. How do I get it back to the sanded clean look?
I’m glad you talked about the watco and shellac. Im working on a guitar kit now and was thinking about watco gloss as a finish and didn’t know what to use as a sealer. So these couple videos were just what I needed! Do you think I still need to grainfill a basswood body or would putting down a heavy coat of shellac and sanding back a bit have the same effect?
Laquer that has yellowed.i want the table top to match.i sanded the top.deft laquer as i understand does not yellow.could be bullshit.anyway,i want yellow.any ideas
Lacquer... I read its not good for outdoor. Whatcha think about an artist easel made for outdoor use? Short durations in moist weather occasionally? thanks!!
Thanx brad your the best man! Really appreciate the help. Just a curious question, were do you do your builds? Do you have like your own shop or do you work there? If you don't mind me asking.
I don't know what they call it but I've seen paint on cars and bikes that seem to change colors or hue as you move around it. If you haven't already would love to see how this is done. Thank you
I spilled a small amount of fingernail polish remover on the coffee table and now the spot is not shiny compared to its surrounding, so can you can please tell me if spraying some Watco lacquer can fix the surface and makes it shine as before?
I accidentally bought matte finish. I’ll see if I can find semi gloss tomorrow. I’ve got the wood stained already. Will it not turn out as good if I don’t seal it before spraying the lacquer?
I used the Watco Satin spray on a neck and it came out beautiful. I bought a quart of the brush-on clear gloss. How much should I thin it for my spray gun? I'll probably use the 1.3mm tip, but have 1.5 and 1.7.
I did this same brand too and the finished table felt grainy like I had sprinkled salt on it maybe I didn’t sand it well but it sure didn’t feel like that before I applied the coat any tips I felt like an idiot cause I was all excited I even called my wife to see then she pointed out it felt rough
Thanks for the info Brad. I have a Tele KIT with a Maple fret board, would like to get a nice gloss on the fret board. I have behlen's Vinyl sealer spray and their Instrument lacquer But I'm not sure how to apply them, in what order etc. and are these OK for fret boards? The neck I am using a stain, then true oil to seal . Any advice you can give me on the fret board finishing is greatly appreciated, especially regarding the frets once the board is sprayed. I can't remove the frets, so can the lacquer be taken off after the spraying? Lastly, is a polishing wheel OK to buff the fret board, or by hand is the best method? Thank you very much in advance for your help. Love your videos, never miss any since i found the channel.
Thanks Ralph. You would use the sealer first, then the lacquer. For a maple fretboard though I think you can skip the sealer. Maple is solid enough to gloss up quickly with just lacquer. If you use a polishing wheel carefully with dry polish that should work fine. It will just help polish up your frets more haha. For paint removal from the metal you can either try to protect the frets with a bit of Vaseline, or wipe the after with lacquer thinner. Or you can tape them.
Ok Brad, I'm at my wit's end. I have been working on this project guitar for a month. I already got out the heat gun and took the guitar back to bare wood once. If I give you a quick overview can you tell me where I went wrong? I am using Spray Cans. 1) Used wood filler to cover/ fill any dings or whatever 2) Sanded body by hand all the way to 800 grit 3) Did a couple coats of Sanding sealer, let sit overnight, sanded up to 600, then repeated this step. 4) Sprayed a 3 coats of Rustoleum Black Laqcuer, waiting 10-15 minutes between coats. After a couple days Sanded it back to 600 grit. I did this step two more times. (Around here I started to notice problems. Mostly noticeable on the back, the paint was starting to build up in ridges/waves, that almost looked like drips, but never dripped. Each time, I would sand those areas out to bring them back flat. I was being very careful to spray evenly and overlap by about 50%) 5) Sprayed 3 coats of Rustoleum Clear Lacquer, Waiting 10-15 minutes between coats. After a couple days, sanded it back to 600. I did this step two more times until I ran out of clear. After this step, I let the body sit for about 4 days. (By now there are quite a few ridges/waves. They were mostly visible in specific light, so I hoped maybe they would buff out. 6) Began polishing with McQuires Compound with a wool buffing pad on my power drill. I basically gave up when I realized that the finish wasn't flattening out, it was mildly orange-peeled in some places, and the buffer wasn't helping. I also noticed that one area where I was holding the body with my bare hands had had my fingerprints slightly imprinted in the paint. This was earlier today. I got frustrated so I set the guitar down to come back later. When I went back in there tonight, I found that I had left the body resting on a soft polishing cloth and this had left indentations in the paint, not to mention towel fibers stuck in the finish. A) Where did I go wrong? B) Is there any hope of saving this finish? If so, C) What do I do to try and repair this finish? PLEASE HELP!!!
Hi Adam. I have a couple questions for you and then I should be able to help you out. 1: did you use a block when you sanded the filler, or did you do it by hand? 2: can you check the can and confirm that it was actually lacquer that you used and not an acrylic or enamel?
I used the exact product shown in this image: tinyurl.com/ybshucct for Clear and Black. I sanded both by hand and with a block after the filler, since some areas were too curvy too get with the block.
Ok. Waviness like that generally arises from unevenness in the filler. That is usually a result of sanding with your fingers. As for the imprinting, that’s because the lacquer didn’t have time to fully harden. That stuff takes 4-6 weeks usually. You may need to sand it back flat, let it dry for a couple weeks, clear coat again, and then let it dry for a month or so before moving on to sand and polish.
Thank you Brad! I will follow your suggestions and report back! Watching one of your other videos I realized that I skipped the pre-buffing sandings as well.
Could you spray this over a Duplicolor paint job? I'd obviously like to spray a Duplicolor clear coat, but they don't seem to have a satin or matte clear coat. Thanks!!
Hi I'm going with the gloss look over a hvlp sprayed white wash stain & going to use this product but the brush able one & 1-1 thined with lacquer thinner will it turn the white to yellowish im doing a two tone white wash & gunstock stain want this to pop what says you
You just want it crystal clear? Water based clears have no amber to them. Also, 2K automotive polyurethane clears are quite clear, but they are also somewhat dangerous.
Awesome video. I made an award plaque with a logo that has 4 colors. One color is a sprayed on using a can and the other colors are acrylic paints I brushed on. Can I use a spray can to spray a clear semi gloss lacquer on it or should I spray polyurethane can. I am open to any suggestions.
Thank you for the quick response. Should I use 2 coats of acrylic clear by itself or do I need to spray acrylic clear first then spray lacquer over the acrylic clear? Any light you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
You could just do 2-3 coats of acrylic clear. If you want to use something else, just use one coat of acrylic clear and let it dry for a couple weeks. Then sand lightly and apply your lacquer.
I am totally perplexed. I used the clear acrylic with only two coats 10 minutes apart. It looks like the second coat reacted with the red color paint spray (mineral spirit based solvent), but the waterbased acrylic paints were just fine. What is really strange is I did a test piece with exact colors and all the colors and top coat were just fine even the red sprayed color in a can. The test piece did not bubble and ruin the red color at all. This is the third time I had to sand off the logo and start from scratch. Any light you could provide would be greatly appreciated. I thought it might be the solvent in the acrylic reacting with red paint, but the test piece did not react at all.
I love Watco, have used their gloss on 4 builds, dries fast, polishes beautifully, easy to find!
Yup, it’s definitely an easy choice to work with. I did a video back in the day on how to mix their brushing lacquer to be sprayable. That works pretty well too.
Try finding it in a home depot near me. Lol
@@michaelhinchey I don't know where you live, but they have it at mine. You can get great stuff from SOLO Music, or tons of places in the US.
I've finished 5 guitars with Watco. Good stuff., and if used properly, rubbed out correctly , it makes a good finish
You make your own 🎸?
Glad that it's a usable product. Easy to get for small projects.
Ya it’s convenient and definitely has its uses.
Our local Walmart has it but they have restock issues. When something sells out they seem to not get it back in. They are super slack. 100 % agree on the mask it is harsh! You can force dry it some with a fan. I sand between every few coats with 1200 grit.
Watco is also available at Wal-Mart in the US. Great tips Brad. Keep these useful videos coming!
Cheers Dave.
Watco is only around 9% solids compared to Mohawk/Behlen (or similar) which are considerably higher. The Watco sands ok and buffs out nice enough but it takes a stupid number of coats to get the build. Depending on how big your project is you may actually be better off buying the good stuff instead of what amounts to a can of Watco solvent and propellant with a few drops of lacquer in it.
Yup. Mohawk is considerably better.
No mask, part of the fun is huffing those fumes
I can confirm that with the informations that you gave me about it .... it does an amazing result !!!! Take care !!! :)
Ill start off by saying I'm a professional repair and custom guy. I use watco on EVERYTHING! Over poly finishes perfectly. I lightly sand gloss finishes and use their matte to make satin like finishes with no need for shellac. People love it. But on an unfinished body you can go with or without the shellac. This stuff is super easy to work with and dries super fast compared to other nitro's I've used. Watco all the way.
And to add, with the right compound watco can become a glass finish!
Yeah. Obviously the need for sealer (in this case shellac) depends on the wood type. Watco isn’t the fastest drying nitro I’ve used, but it gets the job done and it’s easy to get.
@@davidwoodruff2245 So you could use it as a glass finish?
A gloss finish? Yes.
It did good for me on some restored screwdriver and file handles. Just had to do multiple thin layers
Have a can of gloss Watco waiting to finish a guitar body. Will be waiting for your video.
I went to woodcraft in search of wipe on poly. The guy at the counter gave me his card and says hes a luthier and recommended Watco satin in a can. He said it works great and highly recommends avoiding poly on a bare neck. I couldn't get a straight answer out of him in terms of "sealing" the raw wood before doing clear over it. I am not sure if I am supposed to. I guess I'm used to painting metal parts and totally lost on how to treat wood before paint lol.
Necks are often made of such tight grained wood that there’s really no need for a sealer. Make sure the neck is sanded smooth and you can likely get away with just a few coats of the satin watco.
I'll be using this on a paddle I made tomorrow. I've got the satin. Hopefully it turns out nice. It's been chilly here lately.
WHY ? whats wrong with polyurethane ?
i would use it on a sanded guitar body for that satin look
Hi Brad, thank you for all the videos and tips. Yo have helped me greatly getting back into this hobby. I just finished my build and sprayed about 8 coats of watco clear lacquer 7 days ago. I tried the finger nail test and it's rock hard with no indent. Is that normal as you say it should take about 1 month. Hoping I can start polishing.
Sometimes that happens depending on the conditions. You should be able to start polishing.
I'm building a guitar body and I've been thinking of using lacquer paint. I might give this stuff a try for the clear coat. Thanks for the video!👍😎🎸🎶
It's good stuff. I used the Watco Satin on my last build, on the back of the neck and back and sides of the body. It worked quite well. I really liked that I didn't have to level sand and polish it!
That does make things easier haha.
@@PicksPaints awesome!👍😎🎸🎶
Nice video, thanks again Brad !! :)
Cheers Terry.
curious the can says to NOT apply over shellac and I was wondering if I should seal my coffee table reno ...1- I glued oak veneer ... 2- I stained it with oil based stain... now what??? do I apply the shellac to seal it before using WATCO Lacquer or stright to lacquer... lacquer is spray can EXACTLY like in the video (satin)
Either one is an option. Dewaxed shellac is a great sealer.
Menards carries spray cans of Watco at a great price less than &8.00 a can
Nice
Hello Brad, I have been watching your videos to try to figure out how I can fix a "Goodwill" guitar. I found one from 1973 and the finish needs some fixing. The back finish is really thin - can I spray over it with this product to fix it? What would you recommend?
I don’t know if that will fix it, but yes you should be able to spray over it with this stuff after you prep it.
I sprayed one layer over freshly sanded wood and it turned it with a slight color after 3 hours dry time. How do I get it back to the sanded clean look?
Lacquer always has a bit of a hue. You’d have to sand it back off to have it look sanded again.
I’m glad you talked about the watco and shellac. Im working on a guitar kit now and was thinking about watco gloss as a finish and didn’t know what to use as a sealer. So these couple videos were just what I needed! Do you think I still need to grainfill a basswood body or would putting down a heavy coat of shellac and sanding back a bit have the same effect?
I would think a few coat of shellac should fulfill the same purpose.
Can I directly apply it to a plain wood?
Thank you 😊
Yes
Nice one Brad. 👍🏻
I'm trying to. I'm trying to match a furniture finish
Can you share the video of sealing the above piece with shellac and analine dye ? Thank you
I believe it’s titled how to tint your shellac.
Can I Apply watco clear gloss ontop of stew mac color tone black gloss?
Probably. I haven’t tried it but they’re both nitro based.
Laquer that has yellowed.i want the table top to match.i sanded the top.deft laquer as i understand does not yellow.could be bullshit.anyway,i want yellow.any ideas
Use a coat of amber or use a shellac as a sealer before the lacquer.
Lacquer... I read its not good for outdoor. Whatcha think about an artist easel made for outdoor use? Short durations in moist weather occasionally? thanks!!
I’d opt for an acrylic or polyurethane. They’re better able to handle humidity fluctuations.
Would plastic wood filler be okay for small scratches? I want to get a nice coat but I don't want the scratches to affect it
Yes, that shouldn’t be a problem.
Thanx brad your the best man! Really appreciate the help. Just a curious question, were do you do your builds? Do you have like your own shop or do you work there? If you don't mind me asking.
It’s a shop that I used to work in. Now I just go in on the weekends for various projects etc.
I don't know what they call it but I've seen paint on cars and bikes that seem to change colors or hue as you move around it. If you haven't already would love to see how this is done. Thank you
It’s highlight interference paint. Commonly referred to as chameleon paint. I’ve done a tutorial of how to paint a guitar with it.
Cool. I'll look for your tutorial. Thanks again
You’re welcome. Enjoy.
I spilled a small amount of fingernail polish remover on the coffee table and now the spot is not shiny compared to its surrounding, so can you can please tell me if spraying some Watco lacquer can fix the surface and makes it shine as before?
Is it discolored, or did it just lose its gloss?
I accidentally bought matte finish. I’ll see if I can find semi gloss tomorrow. I’ve got the wood stained already. Will it not turn out as good if I don’t seal it before spraying the lacquer?
If you don’t seal it you will just need more lacquer because it is likely to soak in more.
I used the Watco Satin spray on a neck and it came out beautiful. I bought a quart of the brush-on clear gloss. How much should I thin it for my spray gun? I'll probably use the 1.3mm tip, but have 1.5 and 1.7.
I have a specific video on thinning brushing lacquer for spraying.
@@BradAngove Thanks Brad.
Can I use spray lacquer over shellac that had wax in it? Someone told me to only put lacquer over shellac seal coat that has no wax in it.
Technically you should only use dewaxed shellac as a sealer like that. But my tests with shellac with wax have all gone fine.
@@BradAngove thank you
I did this same brand too and the finished table felt grainy like I had sprinkled salt on it maybe I didn’t sand it well but it sure didn’t feel like that before I applied the coat any tips I felt like an idiot cause I was all excited I even called my wife to see then she pointed out it felt rough
It probably raised the grain. You just need to sand it smooth again and add another coat.
Thanks for the info Brad.
I have a Tele KIT with a Maple fret board, would like to get a nice gloss on the fret board. I have behlen's Vinyl sealer spray and their Instrument lacquer But I'm not sure how to apply them, in what order etc. and are these OK for fret boards?
The neck I am using a stain, then true oil to seal .
Any advice you can give me on the fret board finishing is greatly appreciated, especially regarding the frets once the board is sprayed.
I can't remove the frets, so can the lacquer be taken off after the spraying?
Lastly, is a polishing wheel OK to buff the fret board, or by hand is the best method?
Thank you very much in advance for your help. Love your videos, never miss any since i found the channel.
Thanks Ralph. You would use the sealer first, then the lacquer. For a maple fretboard though I think you can skip the sealer. Maple is solid enough to gloss up quickly with just lacquer.
If you use a polishing wheel carefully with dry polish that should work fine. It will just help polish up your frets more haha.
For paint removal from the metal you can either try to protect the frets with a bit of Vaseline, or wipe the after with lacquer thinner. Or you can tape them.
Thanks Brad I’ll try that It’s the first maple fret board so hope it all works. Cheers mate
I hope it goes well for you Ralph.
How does that hold up in damp (not wet) locations such as a bathroom vanity?
Similar to other lacquers. It’s not ideal in humid applications, but once it has completely dried it will likely be ok.
Ok Brad, I'm at my wit's end. I have been working on this project guitar for a month. I already got out the heat gun and took the guitar back to bare wood once. If I give you a quick overview can you tell me where I went wrong? I am using Spray Cans.
1) Used wood filler to cover/ fill any dings or whatever
2) Sanded body by hand all the way to 800 grit
3) Did a couple coats of Sanding sealer, let sit overnight, sanded up to 600, then repeated this step.
4) Sprayed a 3 coats of Rustoleum Black Laqcuer, waiting 10-15 minutes between coats. After a couple days Sanded it back to 600 grit. I did this step two more times.
(Around here I started to notice problems. Mostly noticeable on the back, the paint was starting to build up in ridges/waves, that almost looked like drips, but never dripped. Each time, I would sand those areas out to bring them back flat. I was being very careful to spray evenly and overlap by about 50%)
5) Sprayed 3 coats of Rustoleum Clear Lacquer, Waiting 10-15 minutes between coats. After a couple days, sanded it back to 600. I did this step two more times until I ran out of clear. After this step, I let the body sit for about 4 days.
(By now there are quite a few ridges/waves. They were mostly visible in specific light, so I hoped maybe they would buff out.
6) Began polishing with McQuires Compound with a wool buffing pad on my power drill. I basically gave up when I realized that the finish wasn't flattening out, it was mildly orange-peeled in some places, and the buffer wasn't helping. I also noticed that one area where I was holding the body with my bare hands had had my fingerprints slightly imprinted in the paint. This was earlier today. I got frustrated so I set the guitar down to come back later.
When I went back in there tonight, I found that I had left the body resting on a soft polishing cloth and this had left indentations in the paint, not to mention towel fibers stuck in the finish.
A) Where did I go wrong?
B) Is there any hope of saving this finish? If so,
C) What do I do to try and repair this finish?
PLEASE HELP!!!
Hi Adam. I have a couple questions for you and then I should be able to help you out.
1: did you use a block when you sanded the filler, or did you do it by hand?
2: can you check the can and confirm that it was actually lacquer that you used and not an acrylic or enamel?
I used the exact product shown in this image: tinyurl.com/ybshucct for Clear and Black. I sanded both by hand and with a block after the filler, since some areas were too curvy too get with the block.
Ok. Waviness like that generally arises from unevenness in the filler. That is usually a result of sanding with your fingers.
As for the imprinting, that’s because the lacquer didn’t have time to fully harden. That stuff takes 4-6 weeks usually. You may need to sand it back flat, let it dry for a couple weeks, clear coat again, and then let it dry for a month or so before moving on to sand and polish.
Thank you Brad! I will follow your suggestions and report back! Watching one of your other videos I realized that I skipped the pre-buffing sandings as well.
Oh, that could definitely be part of the issue. Let me know how it goes.
Could you spray this over a Duplicolor paint job? I'd obviously like to spray a Duplicolor clear coat, but they don't seem to have a satin or matte clear coat. Thanks!!
I’m surprised they don’t. You could use the rustoleum painters touch instead. It’s closer to the same compound.
@@BradAngove cool. Thanks Brad!!
Hi I'm going with the gloss look over a hvlp sprayed white wash stain & going to use this product but the brush able one & 1-1 thined with lacquer thinner will it turn the white to yellowish im doing a two tone white wash & gunstock stain want this to pop what says you
It will add an amber hue to it, yes.
Then what should I go with i like a glass look for this particular project?
You just want it crystal clear? Water based clears have no amber to them. Also, 2K automotive polyurethane clears are quite clear, but they are also somewhat dangerous.
Awesome video. I made an award plaque with a logo that has 4 colors. One color is a sprayed on using a can and the other colors are acrylic paints I brushed on. Can I use a spray can to spray a clear semi gloss lacquer on it or should I spray polyurethane can. I am open to any suggestions.
You may want to start with an acrylic clear.
Thank you for the quick response. Should I use 2 coats of acrylic clear by itself or do I need to spray acrylic clear first then spray lacquer over the acrylic clear? Any light you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
You could just do 2-3 coats of acrylic clear. If you want to use something else, just use one coat of acrylic clear and let it dry for a couple weeks. Then sand lightly and apply your lacquer.
Awesome! Thank you very much for the very needed information. It is greatly.
I am totally perplexed. I used the clear acrylic with only two coats 10 minutes apart. It looks like the second coat reacted with the red color paint spray (mineral spirit based solvent), but the waterbased acrylic paints were just fine. What is really strange is I did a test piece with exact colors and all the colors and top coat were just fine even the red sprayed color in a can. The test piece did not bubble and ruin the red color at all.
This is the third time I had to sand off the logo and start from scratch. Any light you could provide would be greatly appreciated. I thought it might be the solvent in the acrylic reacting with red paint, but the test piece did not react at all.
did you use dewaxed shallac or the regular shallac?
I used regular.
How would this product hold up on a coffee table top? Heat rings? Scratches? Recommendations for that?
Poly would hold up better. Lacquer tends to soften when it gets warm.
Can I use watco over nitro color?
Yes, watco is nitro based.
i thought it did the job
Can it be used on top of a stain?
Yes
Minwax spray lacquer has a nicer tip.
Thanks for the tip... so to speak.
Does it water proof it
It does.
do NOT spray this over poly...its wrinkles up =(