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I'm normally an oil guy, ARS being my primary topcoat.
I had to turn over a project in 1 day and bought a quart of Behr Matte water poly at Home Depot.
Started cutting the wood at 5PM (mahogany skinned doors) and had my fourth coat of poly on the two desk tops by 11:00 PM, sanding between coats.
I love the working time of thus stuff. It is supposed to cure in 2-3 days but I'll be stacking some equipment on it tomorrow afternoon.
We'll see how it holds up over the next decade.
Today's waterborne finishes are pretty darn good, Mark. One thing...2-3 day "cure" time is optimistic, IMHO. A full chemical cure is likely going to take much longer than that, not unlike many other finishes that cure chemically.
Following up on what Jim said, I'd be hesitant to stack anything heavy on them for at least a week, especially since you applied that many coats, that quickly. It's likely still pretty soft, even if the surface feels hard.
John
I'd love to wait longer but the desk tops are in a church. I demoed the old sound booth yesterday and built a new, larger one today. Cut down the previously unfinished desktops and applied the water poly. Gotta have video, audio, and broadcasting all installed and working by Sunday morning. I need to start loading the gear onto the desks tomorrow afternoon or Wednesday AM at the latest before doing the wiring/integration and testing.Quote:
Originally Posted by John TenEyck
I’m sure you will be fine Mark. I’ve used the Minwax Polycrylic version of that on numerous tops and built up numerous layers. By tomorrow it should be solid enough for what you are doing. Besides, it’s not like you are going to be moving that equipment around much once it’s installed so even if it leaves a little depression in the finish under the equipment, so what. I’m betting it works out just fine. Regards.Quote:
Originally Posted by mark mcfarlane
Thanks Greg. That is what I am expecting. The doors-that-became-desktops 20 years ago were loaded with grime (they were never topcoated). Now they are cleaned up and topcoated, and have rounded and sanded edges where the operators' forearms go. Everyone will be happy even if there are some depressions under the equipment.Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg Parrish
Don't get us wrong...it's a "best practice" to wait, but the real world doesn't always permit that. And an potential marks from "equipement feet" are not really going to be seen in that environment since I suspect once the gear is placed, it's placed and not moving around.
Depressions in the finish is not what I was most concerned about, it's blocking. That's where the finish sticks to whatever is set on top and gets ripped off when that object is moved.
John
I'm not trying to discount others comment and experience, but my experience with water based poly has been a very forgiving one. As Mark found, you can sand between coats after only 30 minutes to 1 hour if you are using thin coats. It doesn't tend to be as gummy as oil based finish when you rush it. The sand paper is what I use for my guide. If it shows signs of gumming up, it's too soon. But for whatever reason, I've been able to apply multiple coats of the stuff just like Mark and they have held up as well as any other finish over the years. I'm sure shop temperature and humidity play a role in varying experiences also. My shop is conditioned and dehumidified year round so that probably helps. Spraying it in really thin coats also seems to dry way faster. Anyway, was just trying to be reassuring to Mark that his finish will be fine so he wouldn't worry. :)
In addition to the fast dry-to-the-touch, water based finishes are compatible with TransTint so you can 'tweak' the color a bit of required.
Thanks everyone for the help and concern. Blocking would be unfortunate but at least the part of the tops where people put their arms will be smooth and not stained with 2 decades of sweat. I'll move things around tomorrow morning and see if there is any immediate blocking. I can move the gear-on-feet an inch a day for the next few days ...
Mark,
I mainly used Waterlox until shooting GF waterborne clear poly one day. I am sold on it.
Enduro Clear Poly is my all around go-to finish. It sprays great, looks great, and is pretty durable. I have used it on dozens of projects, including my kitchen cabinets, now about 3 years. I have had a couple of grease runs on them that changed the sheen a little afterwards, but nothing more.Quote:
Originally Posted by John Goodin