Question for the water guys :)

[Sam Yerardi]

Ok, this is for Steve and Jim and any of the guys that love water-borne finishes. I'm a dyed-in-the-wood (sorry, couldn't help myself) shellac/BLO/wax and sometimes lacquer-every-once-in-a-great-while brush/rag/wipe kind of a guy and I've made it one of my personal goals this year to try some new finishes such as tung oil (have never used it), Watco, Danish, etc., --basically anything I've never tried. I keep hearing (and I'm getting more curious) a lot about water-bornes. I know a few of the obvious benefits (somewhat safer, cleanup, etc.), but I typically don't spray any of my finishes. I'd love to try spraying one day, but it's just never came up yet as a good option for me. I mainly do period furniture and Arts & Crafts so I guess the Arts & Crafts is where my first application might be. Knowing that, any reasons why you would suggest I try water-bornes? Or should I stay a land-lubber ;)?

[Steve Schoene]

If you like the results you are getting there isn't really any need to go to waterborne finishes. Using Watco, or other Danish oils (oil/varnish mixes) is really quite a bit like using BLO, and in many cases you would he hard presses to tell wood finished with those two apart. Tung oil is just too much of a PITA to want to mess with. Very long drying times needed between coats, some risk of having it turn frosty, and only marginally better performance than BLO. I would think about trying a wiping varnish--Waterlox for example, or one you mix by thinning other varnishes.

[Joe Chritz]

Unless you want to spray there isn't really a need to go to anything waterbase.

Several wiping varnishes give excellent results with minimal learning curve. Waterlox is what I use when I need or want a wipe on finish.

I will admit freely that I spray USL whenever possible. Even with an extra step if I use sealcoat it is still much faster for a finish.

Joe