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+-- Thread: white walnut (/showthread.php?tid=7320975)
white walnut - bgosh - 07-27-2016
After spraying a piece of walnut with an (acrlyic ?) matte finish it turns white.this has happened to me before and am wondering why this is happing? What am I doing wrong if anything getting ready this for a finish?
Thanks Stan 
RE: white walnut - Wild Turkey - 07-28-2016
How long did you let it dry before getting worried? I've worked with some water-based clears that were white until they started drying, then they cleared up.
Did you stir the finish before putting it in your sprayer? Some "matte" finishes use a diffusing material in the finish to get the matte look. If you didn't stir it up you may have gotten an overload of the material.
RE: white walnut - bgosh - 07-28-2016
It turned white almost immediately after spraying and what I used was in a rattle can. After waiting until today after 48 hrs I sanded all of that finish off and then sprayed it with the same brand but a gloss finish and it did not turn white. :huh:
RE: white walnut - Wild Turkey - 07-28-2016
sounds like the first can was bad -- too much additive.
RE: white walnut - Rob Young - 07-28-2016
If it was a lacquer based product, it sounds like blushing. But if it was an acrylic based product, it could have been poor atomization of the flattening agents or maybe a can that was past its prime or still be trapped moisture under the finish.
RE: white walnut - jteneyck - 07-29-2016
I think Rob's on the right track. I think it was blushing. I've had the same thing happen with rattle can lacquer on walnut, but it happened for me when I tried to spray the second coat before the first was really dry.
When this happens when folks are spraying NC lacquer they add retarder to the lacquer, and they fix the problem by spraying straight lacquer thinner onto the blush areas. You don't have that option when using rattle can product, although Behlens and/or Mohawk makes a rattle can blush remover product that might work, but I think it's designed to work with NC lacquer.
I think the best you can do is wait a couple of days to see if the trapped moisture goes away on its own. If it doesn't, or you don't want to wait, I'd strip it off and start over. If you go that route, make sure your project is really dry before you spray, and spray in a low RH environment. If you can't spray indoors where it's AC'd , then wait for a day with low RH and do it in the middle of the day.
Good luck,
John