Melamine Finish

[Mr Finch]

Never having used it before I bought some Chestnut melamine finish for my pens.

I have now tried it on a couple of "practice" turned pen blanks (not finished pens!) to get the method right. I have failed completely so far. No shine at all on a bubinga blank. I want to switch to melamine because of the oil in bubinga type woods killing the CA finish. Couple of questions:

1. Should I expect a shiny finish on a pen, right off the application?
2. How many coats of lacquer do people apply?
3. Has anyone got any videos of their process?
4. Should I just give up on oily woods and stick to acrylics?

TiA!

 

[Penpal]

Check it out with Phil he is an advocate.

Peter.

 

[Buckeye]

I have never used melamine, but a search of youtube shows this, which might be helpful.

Record Power's Essential Guide to Using Melamine Lacquer - YouTube

Peter

 

[Mr Finch]

Thanks Peter - I watched that one previously, but it only shows the application of, not the finished result. :(

 

[Dalboy]

Are you applying a sander sealer before the spray. I use the Chestnut Acrylic Gloss Lacquer over sealer and get great results. Also with any oily wood I give it a quick wipe just before applying the sealer with thinners

 

[Mr Finch]

Thanks for the response Derek. I bought the wipe on, not the spray and yes, sanding sealer first after a wipe (and let it dry) with meths.

 

[Bill Mooney]

If you want a high gloss finish then use high gloss lacquer, either acrylic or cellulose which will be a spray finish which you can burnish with burnishing cream if required.

 

[wm460]

Quite a few members on the site use melamine,

 

[ArtyCrafty]

I used to use a product called 'instrument lacquer' which gave very good results and which could be buffed to give a great shine.