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I want to spray zinsser seal coat which is a 2lb. cut. Do I have to thin it and what size nozzle do I use with my fuli hvlp. Also how low of temperature can I live with?

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Mike McNerney

You can wipe on a 2# coat in just a few minutes and not have to deal with the spray equipment clean up or runs in the finish. I'm not a Zinzer fan because I've seen it not dry due to unknown age in the can, but I do the 2# wipe on seal coat on every instrument I make.

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“ The meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away” Pablo Picasso

Some people do spray shellac, but if you are just doing a seal coat I agree with Bob - wiping on a thin coat with a rag is much less work and will give a better result. Misting on a couple of thin coats from an aerosol can will also work.
Shellac is a sticky finish that likes to gum up spray guns. If sprayed too heavily it dries slowly and attracts dust and it doesn't sand particularly well.
But some people have sprayed shellac with success. Chuck Tweedy on the MIMF sprayed it as base coats which he later French polished over top of. If you don't get any good information here you might check the Archives there, or ask your question there (I think Chuck still stops in there from time to time).

I've had good results with Zinsser rattle-can shellac. Sure is easy to set up and clean the gun. Also no worries about thinning. No comment so far from OP concerning the reason for shellac coatings, and it matters. Seal coat? final finish? It all matters.

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Peter Havriluk

not a fan of spraying canned shellac wiping is easy fast and neater

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

OK let me add some new details. I am considering doing the entire finish in shellac. My experience with first coats of almost anything is pretty easy. i will be brushing or wiping my first coat of shellac. but after that I have had lots of issues getting it even. So i would like to try spraying. How long should i let shellac dry between coats so i don't have to worry about shrinking. after the last coat, again how long should I wait, i wanted to try the FP alochol pad thing.

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Mike McNerney

Mike! I've sprayed shellac a lot on my guitars. I use it as a wash coat on almost all my projects. I don't change nozzles on my HVLP. I think it's a 1.2 on there, so it lays it down pretty thick. I have to be very careful or it will run. If you want, we can exchange ideas over a nice bottle or red wine...

I've moved over to using pre-cat lacquers, mostly, but shellac was always my first love.

Cheers,

A

Oh, and I'll PM you my phone number. I haven't been on here in almost a year, I think. Life (and my lengthy renovations) are still getting in the way of my guitar building enjoyment...

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...