Posted by Moises M. Carrasco on August 25, 2000 at 20:13:47:
In Reply to: Laquer finish posted by Grungy tuba on August 25, 2000 at 10:06:24:
Rick was pretty close. My experience at S.E. Shires custom trombones was thus: the buffing process is extemely important and key to a successful finish. Good preparation is essential!! After buffing, the instrument is submerged in a vapor degreaser. A squirting wand is used to get into those "hard to reach" places. The horn comes out squeeky clean and very warm. From this point the metal must not be touched and is only handled with clean hooks. The horn or parts tree is brought into the spay booth and hung in the center of the booth. The spray booth is slightly pressurized to blow particles out through the filtered outlets. Dust particles are the main enemy of a spray booth!
Lint free cover-alls are donned with a hood and spray mask (and in my case a beard cover). A lacquer spray gun is used to spray light over-lapping strokes over the target. The target sits for a few minutes and then is baked in an oven. Ours was a vertical double door cabinet lined inside with insulation. The horn is then hung inside and the heat lamps (we called them "french fry lights"!) are turned on and the doors closed. The strongest finishes are obtained with moderate heat (175 - 225 F) over a long period.
I hope this answers your question.... with a lot of practice and equipment, you could do it yourself!!!