Satin NC lacquer how to advice needed

[crooksj]

Customer wants a satin Weber Gallatin-like finish. Never done anything but gloss. Will be using Mohawk products and have some guidance from their docs, but am not sure whether I should spray several build coats w/o flattening paste first to retain clarity.
Will do some experiments on scrap first, but any advice would be very much appreciated.
Thanks!

[Graham McDonald]

I have done satin finishes using 10% gloss lacquer. Three double coats, let sit overnight, then a scuff back with 400grit paper to get rid of any bits and then a couple of coats with straight thinners. Repeat if necessary. Very simple and very quick.

Cheers

[mirwa]

If painting a stain finish, then dont use gloss at all for any of the stages, nothing worse than doing a final rub down to have areas of gloss amongst the satin finish.

Stay satin from start to finish, my satin finishes i still give a light buff at the end to remove any sanding marks

Steve

[sunburst]

I add flattener (silica powder) to my usual (Mohawk) nitro. Some finishers spray regular gloss lacquer first and only add flattener to the final coats, but I normally use small amounts of flattener in all coats, adding more for the last coats. I leave the final coat alone, it is "off the gun"; no buffing, no rubbing. That requires a very clean spray; no dust, no gnats, no finisher-generated problems. It is very difficult without a clean, proper spray room with a good exhaust fan and filtered air to the booth.
Getting the right amount of flattener requires several tests on scrap. Add a little, test spray, add more until you get the amount of sheen you want. If you weigh or carefully measure the components and record the results you can have a repeatable mix.

[violinvic]

Rub it out with Rottenstone.