Followup to EM6000 problems

[Jeff Monson]

I figured I would share my outcome with my 1st attempt at spraying EM6000. I posted earlier that my finish had a very whitish appearance, not clear like it should be. I also posted this on the target forum and received similar responses that it was an application problem, no mention that it may possibly be a product problem.

Well I just did not want to give up on waterborne laquer, so I went to my local Sherwin Williams and asked if they had a similar product. The sent me home with some chem aqua waterborne laquer, they demo'd me the product to restore my faith. I sprayed some of it last night and I am VERY impressed, I got the same final results as a solvent based laquer. Very clear and very smooth, I am sold on this product.

Now I am not going to bash Target coatings, but I will point out the following,

1. Both products were sprayed at the same temp, same hvlp, same tip, same wood and same stain, same shop. The only difference was the day.

2. Both products were sprayed the same mil thickness, and same # of coats.

I truly believe this was a product problem, but who knows??? I just thought I would share my experience.

BTW, here is a photo of the grain filler I received also, not sure if this is supposed to look this way or not.

[Phil Phelps]

Everything is the same except the day. That can make all the difference in the world when using "real" lacquer. I really wish they'd rename this product as you can never have a waterbase "lacquer". Since I've never used a waterborne "lacquer", tell me, how long before you can sand it? Weather has a lot to do with drying time, but say, seventy degrees and 50 % humidity.

[Jim Becker]

Phil, I've had no problem with light sanding after a couple hours for smoothing early coats and you can do serious sanding next day if necessary.

Jeff, my gut is saying that you had some bad finish. But this whole finishing thing can be quite fickle sometimes...

[Jeff Monson]

Phil, I've had no problem with light sanding after a couple hours for smoothing early coats and you can do serious sanding next day if necessary.

Jeff, my gut is saying that you had some bad finish. But this whole finishing thing can be quite fickle sometimes...

Jim, cant agree with you more,


With the chem aqua I can sand after 30 minutes and recoat, and have on 5 cabinets, with great results.

I'm still going to try some Target products, I think this time I will order in June instead of January, I personally think the subzero ups ride had alot to do with the results.

[Harley Lewis]

Yup, it sure sounds like the material was frozen during shipment. I have had a similar reaction with a water borne product that was not Target.

[Frederick Rowe]

From Target Coatings Forum:

Although we recommend that our water-based products not be frozen, they do have a Freeze/Thaw Stability function that does protect the resin from moderate freezing.

We suggest that you allow the coating to slowly return to room temperature. Gently stir the contents to bring the resin back to solution. Once fully thawed the coating should return to a off-white, medium viscosity liquid. This indicates that the coating is ready to use. If the coating returns to room temperature and sustains a cottage cheese type physical appearance it is "fractured" and must be returned for replacement. I can say from my experience, you should be getting the results from the EM6000 as you're getting from the SW chem aqua. I would let Target know about the problem and maybe they can answer the question about the grain filler. I've not used it, but that doesn't look right.