[rck46]

I have been going through some of the posts on refinishing and cabinet restoration and have seen referrals to lacquers of different colors and grain fillers. What are the brand names and sources for these products. Are the lacquers sprayed? Thanks, Bob

[cwysong]

Hi Bob,
For grain filler, I recommend Constantines Paste Wood Filler. I get mine in a walnut color. Most of the old radios are walnut and this works well.
http://www.constantines.com/pastewoodfiller.aspx

For lacquer paint, I use the Mohawk brand spray lacquer. You can get toning lacquers in many colors. I always have Perfect Brown, Brown Walnut, Dark Walnut, Universal Walnut and Extra Dark Walnut in my house so I can make just the right toning on radios.
I also use gloss lacquer to finish them off.
http://www.cdmcabinethardware.com/

My feelings on restoring radios is to celebrate the wood, so I always strip them down and try to show the beautiful veneers as they are. If you would like to see some of my work, send me an email and I'll send you some pictures of restored radios.

Hope this helps.
Chris

[exray]

Ditto. I'm in mail-order only country and Constantine's has always worked for me for the filler. On my last order I bought 'neutral' colored filler for the first time. To me it seems that their colored filler adds too much darkening to a cabinet...almost like a stain. But then again the neutral looks kind of whitish in the pores of the grain. Guess you have to mix your own concoction if its an issue. The past few cabinets I have done relied heavily on toner so its a moot point.

As for toner....I buy from whoever will ship rattle cans to Puerto Rico. The list gets short very quickly. The Mohawk products are good. Just observe the difference between the dye vs pigment versions. I can never remember the trade names. Ultra something or other, etc.

I use locally manufactured lacquer. They don't sell satin here. PR folks like 'shiny'. But you can make lacquer come out as you prefer with appropriate finishing techniques.

[rck46]

Thanks for the responses. I looked at the cdmcabinethardware site. They showed two Mohawk propducts - the tone finish lacquer and the ultra classic toner. Is one of these the paint and the other the clear lacquer? How may coats of each do you apply and do you sand and polish with compound after the lacquer is sprayed? Thanks, Bob

[cwysong]

Bob, what I use is the Ultra Classic Toner for coloring. How much you put on depends on the color you want. The more coats, the darker.
For the clear lacquer, I use the Ultra Flo Clear Lacquer, and you may have to contact them for this-I don't know that it is on their website, but they do have it. How much you put on depends on what you want to achieve.
After I put on all toner and stain and I'm happy with the color, I do 3 coats of clear. First a mist coat, then a medium coat, followed by a wet coat. I then sand that down after it sits for a week with 400 wet or dry (wet) and then clean the cabinet and do 3 final coats, just like before. This gets rid of any kind of orange peel or imperfection, and gives me a finish as smooth as glass.
Chris

[exray]

Thanks for the responses. I looked at the cdmcabinethardware site. They showed two Mohawk propducts - the tone finish lacquer and the ultra classic toner. Is one of these the paint and the other the clear lacquer? How may coats of each do you apply and do you sand and polish with compound after the lacquer is sprayed? Thanks, Bob

Well, I use the dye stuff when I need to cover up putty and repairs. The pigment type may be quicker but I don't have enough occasion to keep both on hand. The dye will cover any goobers with 3-4 or so good sprays. Allows a bit more control.

Sand and polish between coats makes no sense with lacquer...IF you are spraying good coats . Lacquer inherently melts the previous coat. At the end of the day the final result MUST be rubbed out or else it will look artificially shiny like a Popular Mechanics picnic table project.