finish advise...

[markus shaffer]

Hello all,

I'm about to start a kitchen cabinet job which suddenly got a whole lot bigger yesterday. The client came to my shop and had decided to add quite a few other projects to the job. However, the timetable is still somewhat the same. I've been reading about a couple finishes that are designed for spray guns and I'm curious if anyone here has any experience with them as they might be able to save me a bit of time.

The first is Crystalac 2001 sold by McFeely's. "No more catalysts to mix, no more wondering if you got the formula right. Just stir and shoot." the ad professes... Too good to be true?

Next is J.E. Moser's Diamond Shield from Woodworker's Supply. Pretty much the same description as above, "No catalyst to mix, no thinning required. Self sealing; performs best when applied to bare wood."

Last is J.E. Moser's Premium Spray Lacquer. "...ready to shoot finish..." the descripion states..

Basically I havn't sprayed such big pieces in my shop as I don't have very good ventilation. It looks like I'm not going to have a huge amount of time on this project now, so my hope is to find a spray finish that works with a minimal amount of fuss. Any advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

-Markus

[Jim Becker]

Mark, I'm using Target Coatings Oxford WB Premium Spray Lacquer on my kitchen project. It's working out outstanding and is a heck of a lot safer to use and spray than the solvent-based products. (Which I can't physically handle, anyway) I'm also using Fuhr International 9100 acrylic for the contrasting color on some items and it's also a pleasure to use. Cleanup is a snap with these water-based products, too. I bought both through (finishing author) Jeff Jewitt at <a href="http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/" target="_new">Homestead Finishing</a>, but they are available from other sources including direct from the manufacturers.

BTW, I spray them with a <a href="http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?gleempaint+YUxZ9y+hvcongunnew.html+" target="_new">Wagner HVLP Conversion Gun</a> with great results.

[Eric Apple - Central IN]

Second the vote for Target PSL as a good finish. Also Fuhr 355 & 375 are fine acrylic varnishes. These products are all water based, the 355 & 375 are ready for any necessary sanding in a quick 20 minutes after shooting. Dry to the touch in 5 to 7 minutes.

Advantage to 355 & 375 is KCMA certified when used as it's own sealer. Burn in between coats is limited to something like 4 hrs. So you need to shoot the job in one day.

PSL remains solvable (sp ??) and burn in is indefinate just like NCL.

I would guess that the 355 is a closer match to the properties of Crystalac and the Target PSL is a closer match to Moser's PSL.

In the Kitchen, I vote to go for a varnish (Fuhr 355/375) over a lacquer (Target PSL). But, I'm not saying anything bad about Target PSL. The varnish chemisty offers more resistance to at least one solvent over a laq.

I guess I now need to mention pre-cat finishes. Fuhr & Target both have these products and their solvent resistance is better then non-cat finishes. If you are interested, try Jeff Jewitt at Homestead finishing or Jeff Weiss at Target Coatings. They can provide more then enough help to make this job a success. www.targetcoatings.com, www.homesteadfinishing.com

Ohh yes... All of these must of course be sprayed. A larger needled is required for the WB's as compaired to solvent based.

One other thing to note, is that most WBs take about 30 days to get really hard. So they need to be babied for about a month. Not usually a problem with a high end job.

Finally one other thing, spraying is much faster then brushing or ragging. Probably about 10x the speed. But, decide this before building the job to far. You will save tons of hassle by shooting with the backs of the cabinets off, and sometimes the sides too. Basically finishing the cab insides before assembly will save you a lot of fussing around with overspray and rough finishes. Once it's assembled shoot the outside.

Hope that helps

[Jim Becker]

Finally one other thing, spraying is much faster then brushing or ragging. Probably about 10x the speed. But, decide this before building the job to far. You will save tons of hassle by shooting with the backs of the cabinets off, and sometimes the sides too. Basically finishing the cab insides before assembly will save you a lot of fussing around with overspray and rough finishes. Once it's assembled shoot the outside.

I've gone so far on my present kitchen project to shoot the inside surfaces BEFORE assembling them, masking off for the glue surfaces! I can get a great interior finish with everything "flat-packed" and it's not compromising strength as I'm careful with the masking and also using mechanical fasteners. (They don't show in this particular project) Shooting the satin PSL on the interiors is a lot more fun than slopping on shellac after the fact... :)