# Clear coat for black sand through cabinets



## Lazlo (Oct 28, 2017)

I have a client who wants a black sand through on her kitchen cabinet island. I am painting the rest of the cabinets antique white. I have done several tests on the black sand trough and so far I have come up with using DE evershield flat black as a base for the sand through. (after sand and TSP) followed by 2 coats SW Wood Classics waterborne poly. The sample looks really sharp and the shell on the poly feels pretty solid and hard, but I want to feel good about the long term wear on the island cabinets. Should I consider a different topcoat?

Ultimately I would like something I can run through my airless with a fine (311) tip. I plan to buy a HVLP in a few months but it isn't really in the cards at the moment. 

While I have tons of experience painting cabinets with urethane alkyd this is my first decorative finish I an really want my customer to love it for the long term.:smile:


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## MikeCalifornia (Aug 26, 2012)

You should check out General Finishes 
https://generalfinishes.com/wood-fi...g-sealer/high-performance-water-based-topcoat

High Performance Top Coat, the best

Where do you live? SD, then TH&H carries it. I go there for all my stuff.


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## ThreeSistersPainting (Jan 7, 2017)

I've always thought black sanded cabinets looked sharp. What type of sheen are you adding to it?

The poly varnish is cool stuff, I sprayed some last week for a personal project. Have you ever looked at Kem Aqua Plus Clear for cabinets? 

https://www.paintdocs.com/docs/webPDF.jsp?SITEID=SWOEM&lang=E&doctype=PDS&prodno=T75F557


Poly Varnish
https://www.sherwin-williams.com/document/PDS/en/035777213513/


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## Lazlo (Oct 28, 2017)

ThreeSistersPainting said:


> I've always thought black sanded cabinets looked sharp. What type of sheen are you adding to it?
> 
> The poly varnish is cool stuff, I sprayed some last week for a personal project. Have you ever looked at Kem Aqua Plus Clear for cabinets?
> 
> ...


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## ThreeSistersPainting (Jan 7, 2017)

You definitely can, I would recommend a .308 tip. Its thinner than pre-cats and it doesnt have a linseed oil or lacquer thinner smell. Clean up is jsut as easy.


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## woodcoyote (Dec 30, 2012)

Durability wise, both are good systems. 

At the end of the day the wood classics poly you used is probably a harder finish. The reason I say that is because it is also designed to be a wood flooring finish with the 3rd coat I believe. Read the data page and it will be in there somewhere.

The KemAqua Plus is also very stout. I've used it on several interior doors (front door included) and has held up well. I did notice that in hot conditions it doesn't level well. And with the HVLP it doesn't level well. Which is to be expected without thinning. Most finishes sprayed out of an HVLP suck at leveling without reduction, just not enough material being put out. 

In my opinion, stick with airless spray, learn it master it and you can do great work. Plus it's a bonus for when/if you do walls and other large projects, where an HVLP can not do the work.


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## Lazlo (Oct 28, 2017)

woodcoyote said:


> Durability wise, both are good systems.
> 
> At the end of the day the wood classics poly you used is probably a harder finish. The reason I say that is because it is also designed to be a wood flooring finish with the 3rd coat I believe. Read the data page and it will be in there somewhere.
> 
> ...



No problems there. I have 15+ years experience spraying airless, just with latex or acrylic never with a clear coat. 

Has anyone used either product with a toner/dye or a stain? I am wondering if there might be a way to get more staining refinish work but stick to water based products.


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## Wolfgang (Nov 16, 2008)

Lazlo said:


> No problems there. I have 15+ years experience spraying airless, just with latex or acrylic never with a clear coat.
> 
> Has anyone used either product with a toner/dye or a stain? I am wondering if there might be a way to get more staining refinish work but stick to water based products.


I have used both numerous times. I prefer the Mohawk dye system. Will give your wood a more even appearance, (like a factory finish), before you stain. However, there is a big learning curve to doing it.

You need to know the different dye colors and ratios to make the matching base dye. The dyes are liquid. They aren't cheap. Pretty good investment to get into it. Pac can tell you the skill involved in getting the correct tint.

Because it is a dye, you really can't brush, rag, or use an airless to put it on. I've done a matching Rosewood by brushing the dye on and almost immediately wiping it off. This was on an installed baseboard and matching grand piano. The dye was red, the stain black. Used a dry brush to have the red come through. So, what you're stuck with is using a cup gun, which means you'll have to have a compressor. The dual tank wheel barrow style work well as long as you make sure you're not running off a 220 receptacle. The cup gun is a siphon feed. You can adjust the fluid amount and spray pattern. Used about a 2" pattern to even out a lot of pre-stained trim which had a lot of what they call "gum spots and streaks", which is nothing more than white streaks through the grain.

Is it worth it? Figure out your start up costs of inventory and equipment. Figure out your learning curve time. Figure out if you've got the eye for the different dyes used to achieve the color you'll need. My guess is that most will find it cost / time prohibitive. Also, you'll need a professional spray booth because odor-wise, it will clear your sinuses real quick along with everything else in the area.

Now, what you can do is learn the faux painting techniques to achieve a uniform finish. Takes a lot of skill and a good eye. Need to know your colors and have some really good artistic skills. Instead of an investment of thousands, you can start out with an investment of hundreds. 

Hope this helps.


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