Lacquer retarder

[Janissary]

Hello, my regular lacquer thinner dries too fast. I would like to get some lacquer retarder to add into it in hopes of it performing like Mr color levelling thinner. Lacquer retarder is not immediately available around here. Would an acrylic retarder be ok for that purpose? My thinking is that lacquer is so hot that the acrylic retarder would dissolve nicely in it and still slow the drying time (could be totally wrong).

I can get lacquer retarder online, and I also have mr color levelling thinner. I was just looking for something I could get quickly to add to my regular lacq. thinner.

Thanks!

Edited January 22, 2011 by Janissary

[Triarius]

No, you CANNOT use an acrylic retarder with a lacquer! The chemistry is entirely different. Acrylic retarders interfere with the polymerization (chemical reaction) that forms the solid acrylic coating.

Lacquer thinner is a blend of solvents made for use with natural and synthetic lacquers. These solvents generally include a significant proportion of alcohol (the original natural lacquer solvent). These solvent blends also contain solvents that may change, often drastically, the behavior of the acrylic polymer. They also attack styrene.

And many are quite toxic.

Lacquer retarders are simply blends of other, slow evaporating hydrocarbon solvents.

Lacquers, in spite of what you may read on the web (including some people who should know better) do not cure, they only dry. They form films by evaporation. No chemical reaction is involved. Because the lacquer retarder solvents evaporate more slowly, they slow the drying of the lacquer resin.

Acrylics are polymers that cure (polymerize, a chemical reaction) after they dry, just like enamel paints.

A certain amount of confusion exists because some nimrods discovered that some acrylic paints appear to be soluble in lacquer thinner. Many acrylic polymers are soluble in alcohol, which, as I said, is a primary component of the solvent blend in lacquer thinner. Acrylics are not lacquers and should never be thinned with lacquer thinner.

If you are using true lacquers, then you can find lacquer retarders in many hardware stores, or other places like Woodcrafters that cater to woodworking and furniture making. Or you can "do it yourself" by adding small amounts of slow evaporating solvents like toluene or xylene to your lacquer thinner.

And I hope for the sake of your lungs, liver, kidneys, bone marrow, and nervous system that you are doing this with adequate ventilation.