(didn't know where else to put this, so, um, it's here.)
The people at the hardware store said it can't be done, but I know the secret! (At least with Verathane--YMMV with other finishes) You lay the finish down with a foam roller and then spray the thing (start lightly until you get a feel for how much blowing it takes) until all the bubbles come out.
Air compressors are great. I don't know if cans of air would work well, what with being an unstable petroleum product and all. But, failing that, you can just blow on it yourself (don't pass out though) to get the bubbles out.
Cool, huh!!
*wonders who else he should victimize with this random info*
The people at the hardware store said it can't be done, but I know the secret! (At least with Verathane--YMMV with other finishes) You lay the finish down with a foam roller and then spray the thing (start lightly until you get a feel for how much blowing it takes) until all the bubbles come out.
Air compressors are great. I don't know if cans of air would work well, what with being an unstable petroleum product and all. But, failing that, you can just blow on it yourself (don't pass out though) to get the bubbles out.
Cool, huh!!
*wonders who else he should victimize with this random info*
I've been trying to finish a cabinet with glossy black gasoline-based acrylic lacquer. Unlike slightly-matté (filled) lacquer from the same brand and water based glossy acrylic (which isn't all that glossy), foaming is a big issue with this paint.
I have tried a superfine foam roller, wool-velour roller and a foam roller that has a fine yellow velvet-like coating. These velvet bristles are supposed to eliminate bubbles.
With the superfine foam, I get lots of bubbles. I can roll some away by passing the roller lightly over the surface again, but others will appear in just this process. The paint seems to flow so well that all bubbles disappear by themselves after a few minutes. The surface looks fine afterwards, but when the paint has dried, it has a look almost like car paint except for tiny holes which I assume appeared where the bubbles popped. I wonder why there is a phase in between where the surface looks fine.
The wool roller has the same problem, only bubbles are bigger and fewer. Also leaves small holes in dry paint. Leaves an occasional bit of lint, too.
With the velvet thing, it is possible to pop all bubbles by passing it lightly over the surface. However, I still get the little holes. In addition, there are lots of yellow bristles in the coat.
Do you get the holes, too, after your compressed air treatment? Would a hot air gun with the heater switched off be likely to work?
I have tried a superfine foam roller, wool-velour roller and a foam roller that has a fine yellow velvet-like coating. These velvet bristles are supposed to eliminate bubbles.
With the superfine foam, I get lots of bubbles. I can roll some away by passing the roller lightly over the surface again, but others will appear in just this process. The paint seems to flow so well that all bubbles disappear by themselves after a few minutes. The surface looks fine afterwards, but when the paint has dried, it has a look almost like car paint except for tiny holes which I assume appeared where the bubbles popped. I wonder why there is a phase in between where the surface looks fine.
The wool roller has the same problem, only bubbles are bigger and fewer. Also leaves small holes in dry paint. Leaves an occasional bit of lint, too.
With the velvet thing, it is possible to pop all bubbles by passing it lightly over the surface. However, I still get the little holes. In addition, there are lots of yellow bristles in the coat.
Do you get the holes, too, after your compressed air treatment? Would a hot air gun with the heater switched off be likely to work?
I'd prefer the nylons (in black of course) on the woman's legs. Especially in kombination with high heels and a tight, round ####
uh, far off topic. I apologize for that 😀
hm. does that really work? I used a spraygun (is that correct in english?) and a compressor I borrwed from a real nice neighbour. What a pity, I moved away to another town :-(
uh, far off topic. I apologize for that 😀
hm. does that really work? I used a spraygun (is that correct in english?) and a compressor I borrwed from a real nice neighbour. What a pity, I moved away to another town :-(
Hmm. Interesting.
When I apply my treatment, it's IMMEDIATELY after I've laid down my finish, so the bubbles pop and do not leave any holes. Everything comes out very smooth.
I'm not sure what grade the rollers I'm using are, but I know they leave lots of bubbles, and that if those bubbles are left unpopped, they make things very, very ugly.
Try just blowing on it, you know, see if your lungs have enough power. I bet they do. But I bet you can also get very dizzy by doing this for a while...
Good luck, in any case.
When I apply my treatment, it's IMMEDIATELY after I've laid down my finish, so the bubbles pop and do not leave any holes. Everything comes out very smooth.
I'm not sure what grade the rollers I'm using are, but I know they leave lots of bubbles, and that if those bubbles are left unpopped, they make things very, very ugly.
Try just blowing on it, you know, see if your lungs have enough power. I bet they do. But I bet you can also get very dizzy by doing this for a while...
Good luck, in any case.
Boy, ya know what? You could get *really, really* dizzy with hard blowing and all those varnish fumes...
Tim


Tim
Pah! I didn't even think about that!!
Definitely, then, get a compressor (you don't need much; 20-30 PSI is enough) and an attachment that will allow you to hose down the box with air.
This is a fantastic way to defeat bubbles, and I hope I'm not the only one to profit from it.
Definitely, then, get a compressor (you don't need much; 20-30 PSI is enough) and an attachment that will allow you to hose down the box with air.
This is a fantastic way to defeat bubbles, and I hope I'm not the only one to profit from it.
Hi,
What works for me and in fact gives excellent results is after brushing or rolling on the desired number of coats of varnish, with careful sanding in between applications to eliminate the bubbles & dust accumulation, I apply the final few coats with wipe on polyurethane varnish as sold by MinWax. Wipe on varnish is just ordinary varnish that has been diluted and as its name implies rather than brushing or rolling it on you apply it with a soaked rag. Unlike brushing or rolling, wiping leaves a very thin coat which is quite acceptable in this situation since all you want to do is to restore the sheen after the last sanding.
You could easily dilute ordinary varnish yourself.
I've only tried the oil based stuff. I wouldn't know if you can get the same results with water based polyurethane. I'll test it out for my project - a piano black finish on Lynn Olson's Ariel speakers.
pf
What works for me and in fact gives excellent results is after brushing or rolling on the desired number of coats of varnish, with careful sanding in between applications to eliminate the bubbles & dust accumulation, I apply the final few coats with wipe on polyurethane varnish as sold by MinWax. Wipe on varnish is just ordinary varnish that has been diluted and as its name implies rather than brushing or rolling it on you apply it with a soaked rag. Unlike brushing or rolling, wiping leaves a very thin coat which is quite acceptable in this situation since all you want to do is to restore the sheen after the last sanding.
You could easily dilute ordinary varnish yourself.
I've only tried the oil based stuff. I wouldn't know if you can get the same results with water based polyurethane. I'll test it out for my project - a piano black finish on Lynn Olson's Ariel speakers.
pf
Had a look with a magnifying glass: the holes are not holes, instead they kind of stick out. Wonder what causes them because I don't seem to see them on a freshly painted surface just after the bubbles have self-popped.
burst your bubble
Hi,
I'm not an expert on finishing, but from experience (I had a car painter finisch my speakers) I know that the ground coat (if that's the correct expression) is very important. Nobody mentioned it in the above posts, but the result of the finish depends to a very large extend to the ground coat.
Jan Didden
Hi,
I'm not an expert on finishing, but from experience (I had a car painter finisch my speakers) I know that the ground coat (if that's the correct expression) is very important. Nobody mentioned it in the above posts, but the result of the finish depends to a very large extend to the ground coat.
Jan Didden
Yes, I had pondered this, too. With this paint, I have not tried spray filler yet, but I used acrylic roll-on filler that I sanded carefully. I get my little humps also when I put a second coat of glossy acrylic on a first coat that was sanded with 600 grit.
Eric
Eric
capslock said:the holes are not holes, instead they kind of stick out. Wonder what causes them
I think you'll find that those are minute dust particles. The best way to apply a varnish or lacquer type finish is using a spray gun and to get a dust free environment professional shops use a spray booth .
ground coat (if that's the correct expression)
It's referred to as a base coat and yes, it's the most important part of any finishing process.
pf
ppfred said:
I think you'll find that those are minute dust particles.
That may well be possible, but I thought I was familiar with the sight of dust settling on fresh lacquer. I did the painting in a secondary bathroom that has a well-sealing door and that I wiped prior to action. Except for an occasional lint floating by, this is a reasonably dust-free environment. Is there a chance that this is particles remaining from the last sanding process? I wiped the surfaces many times with a sponge + my bare arms which seem to be able to attract residual dust. Any sanding particles remaining after 600 sand I would expect to be too small to show, but I may be wrong there.
Can you get pure, gasoline based PU lacquer? I looked at many kinds of varnish, and only found three products meant for wooden stair-cases to be water based with a PU-acrylate dispersion. The solvent based equivalent is always pure acrylic here.
Aerosol finishes -- and bubbles
The current issue of "Fine Woodworking" has an article on spray finishes --that is, "spray in a can" type finishes (lacquers, varnishes, shellacs etc.) -- what is most interesting is that they have put up a video of the article on the finewoodworking website. For those who don't want to bother with the video, they recommend purchasing the finishes with the adjustable sprayer (i.e. from Minwax etc.) , the less expensive conical tips produce a donut shaped finish and it's thus difficult to get an even job.
here's the link:
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/wvt061.asp
The current issue of "Fine Woodworking" has an article on spray finishes --that is, "spray in a can" type finishes (lacquers, varnishes, shellacs etc.) -- what is most interesting is that they have put up a video of the article on the finewoodworking website. For those who don't want to bother with the video, they recommend purchasing the finishes with the adjustable sprayer (i.e. from Minwax etc.) , the less expensive conical tips produce a donut shaped finish and it's thus difficult to get an even job.
here's the link:
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/wvt061.asp
do bicycle pumps work? haha
what about those paint brushes that are actualy pad sponge type things,do those leave bubbles?
they look good on tv !

what about those paint brushes that are actualy pad sponge type things,do those leave bubbles?
they look good on tv !

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