Join the Cabinet Door and Refinishers Chatroom on FB. I hope you mean using a catalyzed finish.

It's pre-cat because Sherwin Williams adds the catazlyzing agent at the store, after it's been ordered.

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That's great, thanks! Your first two comments relieve a lot of worry. The first time I experimented with it, I was too concerned with it going on too heavy that I made it far too misty, and it was a hot day, so I'm pretty sure it was drying before it even hit the wood surface. A day later when I tried it again I think i hadn't let the glaze, on the new sample piece, dry long enough. Or, I should have used the lacquer sealer instead of the shellac sealer, before spraying the top coat. Many months later the test pieces finally got hard. Either way, I was too impatient and didn't read the instructions well enough.

Patience is a must with paints.

Keep doing samples until perfected. Take notes.

To prevent pooling, Spray lightly, let dry then another coat. repeat until desired look. It's a safer way.Any drip or pool starting. then stop. adjust to less amount or pressure coming out.

Always keep nozzle clean. If start to spatter, stop. fix nozzle or mixture

Once all assembled. Light coat over in long sweeps continous across. Have mixture mixed enough to do all to keep all the same.

Do in a spray booth with ventilation & appropriate air mask with cartriages.

Outside is risky due to dust, bugs,etc.

Do not touch until completely dry.

Do not heavily handle until completely cured. Takes days.

I have many years airbrushing.

Not easy.

Good luck;)

With the improvements in water based finishes over the years there is no need to use laquer paint. Stoped using solvent based more than ten years ago. I only use an Italian water base 2K poly (which to me is the best out there) so I don't have a lot of experience with all the domestic brands but I do see them at the trade shows. If your using sherwin Williams I would ask them what they recommend.

I sprayed a door chest that I built for my sister twelve years ago with a water based spray finish. I liked it. It tended to build up in corners etc. Made for extra work to clean them out. I never did quite get that down well but I liked it. It was easy and I could spray it in my basement.

12 years ago is not toda. BMW's and Mercedes use water based paints now. At a trade show I believe it was Sherwin Wialliams that had a wall of sprayed samples and a contest for everyone to guess which was water based. All pros no one got it right. Laquer is old technology and problematic. We spray everyda.y. The product we use just works. No issues. Never had problems pooling in corners. Just got in three hundred gallons. Would not be buying that amount if wasn't the best.

I typically agree with jdesign...

However, I started spraying with lacquer, and though I no longer spray with lacquer, it is still a great place to start spraying. It is incredibly forgiving, with new coatings chemically absorbed into previous coatings.

It is hard to mess up a lacquer coat and easy to fix when you do. I don't know of any other coating that takes spot refinishes so well (there may be one, but I haven't worked with it).

If you were spraying in your house or every day then I would definitely avoid lacquer and as soon as you are proficient you should move away from it. But it is just easy to do well.

There are a couple of water based products I prefer now, but when I mess up, I still miss lacquer. With lacquer you can route a finished piece and just touch up the lacquer to end up with same quality.

Jdesign and bry, is there a waterbased spray top coat you could recommend? Definitely something to consider. If I do that though, I'll first have to seal the oil based glaze with dewaxed shellac. I guess that shouldn't create any kind of problems?

I have limited experience with domestic products. I would talk to Sherman Williams pro finishes as a start. I use ICA from Italy only have for more than ten years. Their primer, top cot, clear, glaze and tint. Like I said at trade shows all the companies are there are the products are looking better and better. i never had the need to try something different so I can't say.

Yeah, I just spoke with a Sherwin rep. He basically told me that none of their spray products would be an option for me for couple of reasons. He said he can't even sell me the pre-cat hi bild lacquer as it requires an actual shop for it to be sprayed in. Said you can't use this stuff outside in your driveway or back yard except maybe if you're living out in a rural area. He said if a neighbor complained it could lead to some serious issues. He also said you need a lot more psi than my hvlp system is designed for. That includes the waterbased ones as well. Interestingly, the two how-to videos I was referencing both used that pre cat sherwin product in their driveways. in one of them the two guys demoing weren't even wearing masks. I'm going to call Homestead finishing where i purchased the sprayer, as well as finishes for it, way back when.

Try SW Ken Aqua Plus. It is a bit harder to spray but is a better product than pre-cat lacquer.

You can also try a more rural SW. They don't stock pre-cat in many urban areas but often have plenty of supply in rural areas. Every classic car enthusiast is spraying lacquer (for reds, blues and yellows) in his garage, they have to be getting it somewhere. The neighbor thing is a bit silly though, where do you think a shop's spray booth vents to?