Varnish and Lacquer

[chiangrai]

I'm starting to put wooden clading on the outside of my house.

I want to stain it redwood and cover it with matte varnish.

My local shop only has matte lacquer.I must go to the city and see what I can find.

If I knew the answer to these questions first it would make it a lot easier.

1-what's the difference between varnish and lacquer.

2-Can you get stain and varnish 2 in 1.(espechialy in redwood)

3-What do I use for thinner with lacquer.

[eyecatcher]

varnish and lacquer are very similar. but L. is the more hard wearing of the two and is available in clear or colours whereas V. is only available as a clear, though it does come in matt/semi gloss/high gloss.

They tend to use L. predominantly on furniture and it is normally sprayed on. varnish is brushed on. if you dont have a spray gun then go straight for varnish.

V can be thinned with simply "thinners" (Sogo a thai favourite 125bt a gallon)its cheaper than polyeurethene thinners which you would use with L.

You may find it easier to simply buy the semi gloss stain for the first coat then beef it up with a second high gloss stain in your preferred choice.

lots of manufacturers doing these gloss stains Beger/TOA/woodtect/jotun to name probably only half of them, but they are the quality ones; i have found going cheap like delta is a waste of money.

Just a word of advice re the cladding as I am doing exactly the same; I have treated all my cladding with chaindrite insecticide/fungicide. A 5 Litre can costs 525-575bt and i have treated over 500m of cladding and wide floorboards two sides with it.

[RichCor]

Are any of your application areas going to endure direct sun exposure? If so then you're going to have issues with UV exposure degrading the coating and directly damaging the wood over time.

While stained or clearcoat looks great and shows off the wood grain finish, outdoor exposure will require regular maintenance roughly every 2-5 years.

There's nothing like having several coats of paint to protect the underlying material for longer periods.

[IMHO]

Are any of your application areas going to endure direct sun exposure? If so then you're going to have issues with UV exposure degrading the coating and directly damaging the wood over time.

While stained or clearcoat looks great and shows off the wood grain finish, outdoor exposure will require regular maintenance roughly every 2-5 years.

There's nothing like having several coats of paint to protect the underlying material for longer periods.

Is there anything you don't have expertise in?

You're my nominee for the next POTY awards

Stop by the motoring forums some time, it needs someone with your patience to explain sometimes

@OP: Sorry for going off topic on your thread. Not a reflection on yourself or the topic

Edited August 17, 2015 by IMHO

[chiangrai]

Right,

I get the point about varnish outdoors so may paint the parts that gets direct sunlight..

I have a tin of Tao matte lacquer which says suitable for all interior woodwork to be applied with brush or spray.I'm

going to have to get better than that.Do they have laquer for outdoors in Thailand and can I use a brush with it.

[eyecatcher]

Why not just go with the big branded stains that have been developed for external use HERE in the sunshine.

The comment about 2/5yr to redecorate applies to every house in every country whether its paint,stain,silicone water sealant.

Lacquer incidently is thicker and harder to brush apply. I made tge mistake of using a roller with it on a parquet floor and it dried all bubbly never make that mistake again.

[chiangrai]

I've found a Tao exterior varnish on the homepro website but it doesn't say if it's

matte or gloss.

I will just have to go to a few places in the city to see and see what I can find unless someone knows where to buy it online.

[sometimewoodworker]

1-what's the difference between varnish and lacquer.

Some people say "the spelling"

http://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/info/faq#difference-between-lacquer-and-varnish

Is there a difference between a lacquer and a varnish?

No, the trade tend to refer to them as "lacquers" and the public tend to refer to them as "varnishes".

Why do you have both a lacquer and varnishes section on your site?

The public often feel they don't need a lacquer and sometimes the trade feel they don't need a varnish so this way we cater for both markets. In our lacquers section we have mainly included solvent based lacquers which are mainly used by the trade and in our varnishes section we have water based products which are recommended for use in the home.

Historically lacquer used shellac as part, or all, of its makeup as the name implies. However Wikipedia claims that it is a varnish https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varnish

However today the makeup is much more complex so "wood finishes" is generally correct. There are a few finishes that are a true lacquer "pure shellac" is one and a few pure varnishes. But mostly they are more specialists products and not easily available in Thailand.

It is perfectly possible to brush, spray or wipe on most finishes, though you will probably have to thin them for spraying or wiping, and you may need high quality spray equipment for some of them.

If you decide to use a water based finish you will have to be much more careful about the amount of extra water you add as the chemistry is more complicated and you are usually limited to adding no more than 10%

If you decide to use a non water based product the the common thinner here is "AAA" Sogo is one brand. If you do decide to use that kind of finish the make sure you buy a good respirator with organic solvents filters. They are not difficult to find and "AAA" thinner is not something you want to breathe nor are the solvents in the various varnishes/lacquers.

Edited August 23, 2015 by sometimewoodworker