# Spraying Water Based Poly



## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Been using my HVLP to spray a fair amount of water based poly recently and they are turning out great. Can't tell the difference between it and oil based any more. Now, as for the long term durability...?

Below are two from this morning that I did the third coat on side one (solid core fir doors with golden pecan stain and semi-gloss top coat).


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## woodcoyote (Dec 30, 2012)

Good stuff RH.


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

RH said:


> Been using my HVLP to spray a fair amount of water based poly recently and they are turning out great. Can't tell the difference between it and oil based any more. Now, as for the long term durability...?
> 
> Below are two from this morning that I did the third coat on side one (solid core fir doors with golden pecan stain and semi-gloss top coat).


Nice. You got a little spray shop set up there RH? 
My dream one day..sigh


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

I sold tons of water based poly to a local school district for desks and doors, etc. It was actually a much harder finish the the oil based poly they had been using. In fact, most people have never realized this, but the first use for polyurethane clears was as a roller rink coating. Back in the 50's there was a rash of roller rinks that burned down because of the use of varnish on their floors. A company named Flecto was one of the first to market a polyurethane varnish for roller rinks, and it was actually water based.

So the first large scale use of any polyurethane clear was a water based product designed for use on roller rinks. The oil based versions actually didn't come into use for furniture finishing for several more years.


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

Until you venture into post-cat finishes, I think WB stuff compares very favorable now. Especially if you are comparing to pre-cat lacquer.


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

Oh and BTW, Great looking doors!


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## SemiproJohn (Jul 29, 2013)

Those look great. By the way, is that shop that "hallway" we saw in pictures a short while back?


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## centralalbertapaint (Jun 30, 2015)

Good stuff, I use it on spindle railings all the time.


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## pacific paint (Nov 21, 2015)

Water borne coatings have been used for a long time, Sweden is the leader in technology.

The US is about 20 years behind Europe and that's a fact.

RH those doors look great :thumbsup:


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

SemiproJohn said:


> Those look great. By the way, is that shop that "hallway" we saw in pictures a short while back?


Lol... yeah, that's it. Still, it's all mine, just downstairs, and almost paid for, so...


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## PremierPaintingMa (Nov 30, 2014)

Nice work! Thanks for sharing.


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## Damon T (Nov 22, 2008)

Looking good!


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## PNW Painter (Sep 5, 2013)

RH, what product are you using?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

PNW Painter said:


> RH, what product are you using?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Those were done with Old Masters.


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## Truckee Painter (Feb 25, 2013)

Might be a silly question but what do you lay the doors on between the saw horse and the door? I am always wary of setting them down flat for fear of them sticking before fully cured.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Not silly at all IMO - a valid concern. Don't have a pic of it but I drill two holes at each end of the doors and insert a gutter nail about half its length (3" or so) into each. When I flip the doors to do the second side, the nails, instead of the finished side of the door, rest on the saw horses. I've seen others that use wood dowels for the same purpose but the nails have worked great - even on heavy solid core doors such as those I showed.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Another job just finished today. A before and after pic (not the same door but they are mates to each other) and then some of everything back in place. The two doors shown first are what you see back in place in the fourth picture. All of the doors and drawers from were in a state comparable to the door in the first picture.

This was a bathroom job in which the existing finish (a water based poly applied about eight years ago) started to fail at the joints and along the top and bottom edges - perhaps a result of a less than perfected product considering the time that it was used(?). After full cleaning and other prep I did a light restraining and then top coated them with another water based poly applied via my HVLP.

Now that these cabinets are done, the HO's want a good portion of the interior walls painted, her kitchen cabinets refinished, plus a few doors. All will be scheduled over several different time blocks spanning the next two and a half months.

Not many around here want to do this kind of thing so there isn't much competition. Also, several of the local cabinet companies are now referring enquiries they are getting about this type of project to us. That translates into quite a bit of work and some nice pay checks.


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## slinger58 (Feb 11, 2013)

Really nice work, RH. What was the restaining process to deal with the raw spots?


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

Really nice job redoing damaged stuff. I find it hard to get a good enough stain match to do that and damaged wood often takes differently. You did a great job there.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

slinger58 said:


> Really nice work, RH. What was the restaining process to deal with the raw spots?





DeanV said:


> Really nice job redoing damaged stuff. I find it hard to get a good enough stain match to do that and damaged wood often takes differently. You did a great job there.


Thanks guys.

After all the old stuff is off I just give the entire surface a rub down with the wiping stain, paying particular attention to the areas where the topcoat has been removed. By now I can tell if the stain will take because part of the prep involves a wiping down with lacquer thinner. In doing that, if the old discolored topcoat material hasn't been sufficiently removed, it will show up at this stage. A little more sanding usually takes care of it. I pretty much follow the standard recommendations for allowing the stain to sit before wiping off the excess. 

The following step is where I feel much of the problem with matching the existing stain can be dealt with. After the first coat has been allowed to dry a few hours, I give the entire surface a very light mist of stain using my HVLP. The idea here is not to coat too heavily but to blend in the areas where the old top coat and stain were removed with those where it still largely remains. The entire surface may get coated but only to the extent that an even look is obtained. If I screw up and over do it, it's easy to just wipe it off and shoot it again. IMO, this step is critical for obtaining a consistent look. Of course, you do need to start with a stain that is a close match to what is already there but since the surfaces are generally getting a complete misting you won't notice a slight difference if there even is any. This mist coat is allowed to dry as is with no wiping down prior to the application of the clear top coat.

Although my HVLP does a great job, I have an airbrush system that I use for my model railroading which I am thinking about trying out on some doors and drawer fronts to see how that does for allowing an even finer application of the stain for blending purposes. I will report back on how that works out after I try it.


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## pacific paint (Nov 21, 2015)

Nice work :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## MIZZOU (Nov 18, 2012)

DeanV - have you sprayed any conversion varnish?


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

MIZZOU said:


> DeanV - have you sprayed any conversion varnish?


I have once or twice. Pigmented stuff.


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