Roll-on finish

[Chris Fairbanks]

A friend of mine asked if I knew of a durable clear coat for a built in desk he needs to refinish? He is looking for a roll-on type finish as the desk is built in and it will not be easy to mask off to spray in the area. I spray all my projects and typically use Target coatings. It looks like all of their finishes are spray on only and the only other vendor I use is general finishes and they seem to be spray on only as well. Do you guys know of any durable water based conversion varnish that I could let me friend know to check out? Thanks!

[andy bessette]

Varnish is not rolled, but brushed on. And don't be afraid to do a careful job of masking. So simple.

[Jim Becker]

Chris, most Target products can be brushed on if care is taken. The "varnishes" (EM2000 and EM8000cv) in particular will brush out fine and I believe the EM9300 polyester will also apply fine that way. Waterbornes are always a little harder to brush out because they dry so quickly. It's sorta like between brushing traditional oil based products and brushing out shellac; the former you can work to death and the latter you have to put it on with one quick swipe to clean and move on. Waterborne is in the middle. You can't work it a lot.

[John TenEyck]

Yes, EM-9300 can be brushed on, as can GF's EnduroVar (at least the orginal) and High Performance. And Minwax's Oil Modified waterborne varnish goes on great with a foam brush. I'm pretty sure you can brush on most any WB varnish if you add some Extender to it.

High Performance goes on well with a foam roller, too. Not sure on the others but I suspect if you add Extender to avoid bubbles they all can be rolled.

John

[Frank Pratt]

Wipe on poly is pretty goof proof & very durable with a few coats.