How to Finish With a Spray Gun

Prepare the lacquer or other finish as directed by the manufacturer, and fill the container of the sprayer. If it is a 3-gallon paint pot, remove two clamps from both sides of the lid. Pop off the lid and add the lacquer. If it is a hand-held 1-quart container, unscrew the top -- the gun will stay attached to the top -- add the lacquer and put the top back on.

Plug in the air supply. Test the pattern by holding the gun about 8 inches from a piece of scrap wood. Spray a short burst. It should shoot a pattern about 12 inches wide without runs or rough spots. If it is too light, turn the flow knob on the back of the gun counterclockwise to add more lacquer to the mix. Too heavy, turn the knob clockwise.

Adjust the fan spray pattern. On the front of the gun where the lacquer comes out, there is a fork-like protrusion. If you want to shoot a horizontal pattern, turn the fork horizontal. For vertical, turn it vertical.

Hold the gun about 8 inches from the surface of the wood and pull the trigger, keep moving and do not stop as you sweep in a straight line along the surface of the wood, moving with the grain. When you get to the end, immediately start sweeping back across the wood in the opposite direction, overlapping your first pattern by about 25 percent. Work your way across the wood until the surface is uniformly wet. Let the lacquer dry for 30 minutes.

Sand the surface of the wood by hand with sandpaper. Spray over the sanded surface as you did before. Let the lacquer dry. Apply another coat if desired.