BM Advance Topcoating

[Bernie Kopfer]

I am refinishing a Dining room table because my wife wants it to be white, and admittedly the old dark shellac finish was breaking down. I Have had good results with Advance previously on several large projects, bedroom furniture, bookcase, built-ins, baseboards etc. I use a Fugi Mighty Mite IV with a 1.5 tip and thin the paint until it flows thru the cup at 35 sec. About 20%. Zinzner BIN as a primer.(Great stuff!)
Two coats of primer and two coats of paint and the table looks like my wife wants it to! But should it be top coated for durability? The local BM dealer is knowledgeable and tells me that topcoats are too unpredictable in terms of final yellowing etc. The Table color is a soft white. So does any one have experience or knowledge with this product to answer these questions:
1/ Is a topcoat necessary/beneficial for long term durability?
2/ What water based product that does not cause yellowing do you recommend?
3/ How long does Advance need to cure before top coating
Thanks Bernie

[Jim Becker]

Top coating paint is sometimes a crap-shoot as your BM dealer told you. And for Advance, which is an emulsified alkyd paint in a water carrier, you would also have to wait a bit until it's truly fully cured and no-longer off-gassing...something you seem to already have identified. I'm not sure how long that actually is, but I'd personally wait a month based on the recent buffet/hutch project I completed that was painted with Advance. Water borne would be your only choice to avoid amber tones. Adhesion may be a factor, however, and you'll likely need to abrade the paint surface prior to spraying any clear coat over it.

Honestly, I don't know that I'd top coat over the paint...

[John TenEyck]

I agree with Jim. I'd wait at least a month and possibly 2 months. BM Advance takes a really long time to cure. I'm not sure I'd topcoat it either, but if I did I'd be sure to make a test panel and check adhesion before committing it to the actual table. I'd consider GF's Enduro Clear Poly as a topcoat. It's dead clear, sprays beautifully and is very durable.