Replies

1. 
   jeanlou | Jan 28, 2007 06:12am | #1

   Unclechicken (you will have to tell us about your moniker one day...there must be a story behind it)

   As long as the products you are using are by the same manufacturer, and the only difference is the sheen, there is no problem, be it lacquer or varnish or poly. It is done all the time in wood floor finishing, when they are finishing commercial projects. The satin finish has less solids so it is less expensive. A three coat glossy finish will usually only have one coat of glossy, a coat of satin below that and a coat of sealer on the raw wood. Buyer beware!   JL

   
   

   ---

   Edited 1/27/2007 10:31 pm ET by jeanlou

1. 
   UncleChicken | Jan 29, 2007 10:12am | #4

   Well first of all, thanks for the info. I thought it would be fine, just wanted to make sure. My niece (3) has called me 'Uncle Chicken' since she could talk. No one told her to, and we're not sure where she picked it up. It cracks me up to see the looks I get from people when they hear her calling me this. We'll see if her new little brother/sister calls me this in due time. It might be something I'm stuck with for the rest of my life!

1. 
   jeanlou | Jan 29, 2007 05:02pm | #5

   UncleChicken

   Seeing where it comes from it will be an easy name to carry. Thanks for sharing the story. Enjoy your project   JL

2. 
   mudman | Jan 28, 2007 09:10pm | #2

   As posted before as long as it is a compatible finish it will be OK. The effect will be that the surface will have the higher sheen but the lower sheen underneath will muddy up the grain a little. In most cases this effect is not noticible. The "best" way to apply the lower sheen finish is actually to spray the first coats with high gloss and then make the final coat the desired sheen. This makes the grain af the wood show more clearly, especially with brighter wood tones and natural (no stain) finishes.

   Pardon my spelling,

   Mike

   Make sure that your next project is beyond your skill and requires tools you don't have. You won't regret it.

1. 
   Kevin | Jan 29, 2007 01:40am | #3

   Mike is absolutely right. The reason why the underlying satin finish can muddy up the grain a bit might be useful info for those who don't already know.

   The reason is the flatting agent in the lower sheen finishes. The lower the marketed sheen the more flatting agent it contains. And flatting agent is more or less opaque rather than transparent. So that flatting agent is laying there inbetween your eye and the wood you are viewing, potentially resulting in a slight muddying of the wood grain. In many cases this really isn't much of an issue because some types of color coats, such as a sprayed toner, will obscure the grain a bit anyway... and for the exact same reason as with flatting agent.

   That's why, as Mike says, one preferred way of achieving a satin finish is to apply it last. Two other popular ways of doing it is to either keep the coats thin, thus minimizing how much flatting agent is on the actual piece, or to hand rub the last coat. Hand rubbing the sheen down will result in the greatest degree of transparency since there is no flatting agent between your eye and the wood. But of course it's also by far the most labor intensive way of achieving a lower sheen.

   With figured woods the presense of flatting agent can be a big issue. I've seen satin sheen lacquer almost completely negate the curly figure in veneers.

   PS. Personally I have never hesitated to spray one brand of lacquer over another brand. As long as both are the same or similar types of lacquer then I wouldn't worry about it. However, since Krystal "Lacquer" is a catalyzed product I would be very reluctant to spray anything other than more Krystal for at least until the existing finish is 100% cured out.

   Edited 1/28/2007 5:56 pm ET by Kevin

3. 
   terrylee86 | Jan 29, 2007 05:23pm | #6

   This may be an obvious point, but make sure the finish that you sprayed is completely cured out or when you spray on the gloss it will lift the bottom layers.  M.L. Campbell service should be able to tell you the specs on that product.  I have never used that product so I can't help on that one.