I'm having difficulty getting smooth finishes with Helmsman Spar Urethane and several other spray finishes. Lacquers and urethanes. Everything wants to orange peel. Shop temp is 70 F, 30% RH. Varied spray distance without much success. Any ideas?

Do like the car guys do, wet sand it out.

Stop using the sprays. Hand rub it on. But I have used that same stuff and never had a problem with it. It is easy to apply and is very durable. Maybe the wood surface has oil on it?

When I went from a compressed air spray gun to a turbine HVLP gun, I was able to shoot clear finishes flawlessly. And control the appearance of the final finish by varying the viscosity, feed rate, spray distance, and air volume. I can take a high gloss polyurethane, spray it onto wood cabinetry or trim, and make it a matte finish that looks like hand wiped oil. Or, put it on gloss, without runs.

I've never even been tempted to do it to a gun stock, I do those by hand wiping.

Turbine HVLP has the added advantage of evaporating most of the solvents before it hits the surface, so finishes dry quicker.

When you get orange peeling on a polyurethane, like Jim said, wet sand it out with turpentine or wiping poly as your wetting medium, and finish coat it by wiping on a thinned wiping finish.

Something else going on there, though because I use the exact same product, Helmsman spray, in the green cans, without problems. And I don't do anything special.

Either more thinner, or an additive to slow the dry rate.

The Helmsman stuff I use comes in a green spray can; ready to spray. Not possible to change the formula, nor have I found it ever a problem. I assume Bobster is using that same stuff. assumption.

Yes, I'm using Helmsman in the green can as I have for years. Even bought a new can and had the same issue. When I spray it in the summer when temps and humidity are in the 90's it lays out like glass and requires only a little hand rubbing. Now with lower temps and humidity I get this orange peel. I have it on two different stock sets. Both walnut. One set was sealed and filled with Helmsman. The other sealed and filled with a high build acrylic lacquer. One is stained and the other natural. It orange peels so bad that by the time you level it with 1500 grit wet sanded you've cut into raw wood. Then you start over. I'm talking 5-7 coats and it still cuts through. This is driving me crazy.

Viscosity sounds compromised at minimum.
Try/consider any or all of these for winter time spraying: Worked for me.
Warehouses can get super cold this time of year. The U.S. just had a big freeze all over.
Submerge the spray can in hot tap water for at least a couple hours refreshing the hot water every 20 minutes or so.
The rattler should rattle freely with a sharp ting sound. Dull means the paint is too thick.
Not coming out super fine? Soak the spray tip in lacquer thinner to promote full atomization. No worky? Try a tip from another can and pick the one with finest spray. Clean the tip often.
Last and possibly least. Put the stock in the warmest area of your house for a few hours prior to spraying.

Ah, I was understanding wrong. You're using rattle cans, not a spray gun.

Not many variables you can go with there. Temperature and humidity of the space you're working in. Temperature of the can you're spraying from. I think you're right, needs to be warmer to work right. That's another thing I have going for me in using turbine HVLP. It gets hot. Like 120 to 140 degree hot air. Hard to touch the hose sometimes. I sometimes run it for a bit to get the air stream hot before I shoot the finish. I still prefer to use it in the summer when it's hot.

Yes, no ting when the ball rattles. Pretty dull. I'll do the hot water thing tomorrow.
Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by custombolt:
Viscosity sounds compromised at minimum.
Try/consider any or all of these for winter time spraying: Worked for me.
Warehouses can get super cold this time of year. The U.S. just had a big freeze all over.
Submerge the spray can in hot tap water for at least a couple hours refreshing the hot water every 20 minutes or so.
The rattler should rattle freely with a sharp ting sound. Dull means the paint is too thick.
Not coming out super fine? Soak the spray tip in lacquer thinner to promote full atomization. No worky? Try a tip from another can and pick the one with finest spray. Clean the tip often.
Last and possibly least. Put the stock in the warmest area of your house for a few hours prior to spraying.

Well, couldn't do the hot water, but put the can inside our heating duct for about two hours. Can was nice and warm, and the ball rattled strong. Went on like liquid glass, with just the slightest ripple. I'll experiment more tomorrow. Thanks for the help! This batch of Helmsman just seems to set up way too fast. I like quick drying, but this is much too quick. Needs at least 30 seconds to flow. This stuff starts drying between the nozzle and the wood.

Related kind of:

"us kids" when first married bought a 30' house trailer.

In the tiny kitchen, cabinets had holes in the bottoms to keep the light bulbs from burning the wood.

wife had a can of pinesol air freshener on one.

You shoulda seen the fire ball that son of a bitch made! I thought the stove blew up and busted out the door to shut the bottles off. I hit the door handle and she beat me out.

Be careful how you heat such things. Most of those spray cans use propane, butane or some such gas.

George