Poly or Lacquer on Interior Trim?

[86Vette]

I am about to start re-trimming my house with Craftsman style trim. I will be using oak 1x4s for casings and 1x6s for baseboards. Poly is the obvious choice for a finish but I was wondering if many people have used lacquer. The benefits vs poly is that it sprays a lot easier than poly, it dries in minutes vs hours (important when spraying outdoors and you have to worry about **** getting in the wet finish), and it buffs out really nice. Virtually all furniture you buy is still finished with lacquer. The downside is durability. Poly is much more durable. So what do you think? What have you used/what do you recommend? Thanks.

 

[strutaeng]

I am about to start re-trimming my house with Craftsman style trim. I will be using oak 1x4s for casings and 1x6s for baseboards. Poly is the obvious choice for a finish but I was wondering if many people have used lacquer. The benefits vs poly is that it sprays a lot easier than poly, it dries in minutes vs hours (important when spraying outdoors and you have to worry about **** getting in the wet finish), and it buffs out really nice. Virtually all furniture you buy is still finished with lacquer. The downside is durability. Poly is much more durable. So what do you think? What have you used/what do you recommend? Thanks.

You mean nitrocellulose lacquer? I don't believe that has been using in furniture production finishing since the 80s, or when the precat lacquers and conversion varnishes came out. The exception may be guitars, I don't know much about them.

Nitrocellular lacquer is still a very fine finish, more suited for a jewelry box or something like that. For casings you are better off with oil poly. Not a "fine finish" in my book, but okay for casings and doors (I'm sure one is aware that oil poly was intended for floors.)

Conversion varnish tops oil polyurethane in durability and dries in virtually minutes, but certainly not a DIY product.

 

[Voi]

Friend of mine sprayed pre-cat lacquer on our trim and doors about 8 or 9 years ago and we're really happy with how it has held up.

 

[2level]

Unless you do a lot of finish spraying and don't mind the hassle that spraying clear on base moldings, and window/door casing entails, I recommend an oil-based polyurethane.

 

[2level]

Re: Nitrocellulose lacquer. It's still widely used by furniture manufacturers, from low-end stuff to high quality solid quartersawn oak Arts and Crafts or Craftsman style furniture. Non-precat lacquer is sold at a lot of home improvement stores in rattle can form -- Deft Clear Wood Finish is probably the most common one.

 

[koditten]

Water based polyurethane.
Amazing stuff if you are spraying it. It dries in minutes.
I sprayed and sanded 4 coats in 3 hours. I had 13 cabinet doors that needed finished. By the time I finished spraying the 13th door, the 1st door was ready for sanding.

I was great having all the doors done in an afternoon vs. a week.

 

[strutaeng]

I was also going to suggest a waterborne polyurethane. I think that these are actually acrylic formulations, not really "polyurethane."

Sadly, the wood finishing industry is plagued with misnomers.

Anyways, since you are after the arts and crafts look and most of that is stained do a test piece. Some waterbornes have a pale look. Some folks with shoot a coat of amber shellac under the water clear to give it an amber look like oil.

 

[Firebrick43]

I would do shellac personally.

Poly is harder but if scratched it has to be sanded back to bare wood to refinish or you see a hazy area where new overlaps old.

Laquer is nice to touch up except it stinks.

Shellac uses alcohol as a base, easy to touch up and the smell isn't as objectionable nor long lasting. New coats actually melt the old and fuses everything together. A little bit of paste wax on top. I have blond shellac on my hickory floors and its holding up great for ten years. Don't wear shoes however in the house.

Are you going to fume the oak??

 

[climb.on]

I have sprayed pre-cat lacquer on interior doors, base & window trim. Mostly because, as a former cabinet maker, that is what I know and am used to, so there is no learning curve. Probably not the most durable finish out there, but the last two jobs I did were all stained pine, in vacation rental properties and it has held up great. Don't hesitate. I'm just getting ready to do it again on my house. The only issue I have had is on the end grain of a vanity door, has lifted a bit. This time, I upgraded the lacquer quality. Still always buy professional products from finish supplier (never big box). You really get what you pay for with finishes.

I am seeing guys spraying trim and cabinets on site after install. No idea how that do it, or what they are using, but the jobs i've seen, really turn out great.

 

[86Vette]

I would do shellac personally.

Poly is harder but if scratched it has to be sanded back to bare wood to refinish or you see a hazy area where new overlaps old.

Laquer is nice to touch up except it stinks.

Shellac uses alcohol as a base, easy to touch up and the smell isn't as objectionable nor long lasting. New coats actually melt the old and fuses everything together. A little bit of paste wax on top. I have blond shellac on my hickory floors and its holding up great for ten years. Don't wear shoes however in the house.

Are you going to fume the oak??

Fume the oak? I don't know what that means...

Sent from my VS501 using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[86Vette]

Fume the oak? I don't know what that means...

Sent from my VS501 using The Garage Journal mobile app

Nevermind, I googled it. Sounds interesting but not sure how I would do it.

Sent from my VS501 using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Firebrick43]

You just build a tent out of plastic and place a pan of ammonia inside. Of course this would be done before the trim is installed. This is what gives arts and crafts/craftsman style furniture its distinctive color. The white oak quartersawn gives the Ray flake.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Consider antique oil. Much easier to refresh than the other choices.