Can I Lacquer Over Acrylic Paint?

Lacquer and acrylic paint aren't necessarily different things. Acrylic paint consists of acrylic plastic suspended in a solvent; it's a non-yellowing form of lacquer. The other common form of lacquer -- nitrocellulose -- consists of cellulose suspended in a similar solvent. CAB-acrylic lacquer is a combination of cellulose and acrylic.

Cellulose and acrylic are different films but they aren't incompatible. When you spray lacquer over a solvent-based acrylic finish, they combine to form a hybrid film, even if the acrylic is pigmented to form a paint. It isn't unusual to clear-coat an acrylic paint finish on a metal surface, such as on an automobile, with CAB-acrylic or acrylic lacquer.

Acrylic latex paint is an acrylic finish, but it won't soften when you spray lacquer on it. Instead, the lacquer remains on the paint as a surface coating. It bonds well and although lacquer isn't as flexible as acrylic-fortified latex, it doesn't crack except under extreme fluctuations in temperature or humidity. Nitrocellulose lacquer has a tendency to yellow with age, though, and it may dull the color of the paint.