# Clear Coat for Exterior Door



## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

I have a buddy who had a new front door installed recently. It's a great looking fir door and casing located under a fairly good sized covered porch so direct exposure to weather and sunlight is a non issue. He was originally thinking he wanted me to paint it for him but after seeing it I told him it would be a shame to do so and to consider clear coating it. By then he'd heard that from quite a few others, as well as from his wife, so that's what he's going to do. 

I recommended he use the Sikkens Cetol Door and Window satin finish for both the exterior and interior surfaces (though it may take a bit longer to dry on the inside). I use it for touching up interior trim that's been nicked and scuffed and I really like it. Not being an exterior guy I realize there _may_ be something better out there that I'm just not aware of. I did a search and most of the threads on this subject are a bit old so I wanted to run this by all of you and make sure my recommendation to him is still the best for his situation. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks,
Dan


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## ReNt A PaInTeR (Dec 28, 2008)

Agreed on Sikkens Cetol Door and Window Satin, I did 3 coats on this door 3 years ago and still looks like new. :thumbsup:


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

ReNt A PaInTeR said:


> Agreed on Sikkens Cetol Door and Window Satin, I did 3 coats on this door 3 years ago and still looks like new. :thumbsup:


Thanks Edgar -
I told him to plan on three coats initially and then a maintenance coat every three years or so. It won't be cracking and peeling - just a light cleaning and a freshening up coat should suffice.

Dan


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## Scannell Painting (Sep 25, 2010)

Myself, I'd use anything but Sikkens because of product failure. But if you must surely that product would hold up in a protected area, maybe :whistling2:


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## ttd (Sep 30, 2010)

love that door knob!


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Scannell Painting said:


> Myself, I'd use anything but Sikkens because of product failure. But if you must surely that product would hold up in a protected area, maybe :whistling2:


Can you elaborate? Just throwing this out there isn't too helpful. What's been your experience with it failing? This product has been spoken about quite a bit here on PT and this is really the first time I can recall hearing anything negative about it. 

I'm not in a situation where I must use it or recommend it - that's why I posted my original question. If not the Sikkens, what would you suggest?

Thanks,
Dan


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

We do fir doors with Epiphanes spar.


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## mpminter (Mar 21, 2011)

I recently used the Cetol door and window in gloss. the project was two coats of door and window mahogany satin top coated with one coat of gloss, and the gloss bubbled. The temp was in the high 70's, low humidity, and no direct sunlight. all of the finish was applied by brush (3" Purdy Syntox), and it was not applied very thick. I called the company, and they could give me no reason why their finish would bubble like it did. I would have a hard time using them again myself...


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

mpminter said:


> I recently used the Cetol door and window in gloss. the project was two coats of door and window mahogany satin top coated with one coat of gloss, and the gloss bubbled. The temp was in the high 70's, low humidity, and no direct sunlight. all of the finish was applied by brush (3" Purdy Syntox), and it was not applied very thick. I called the company, and they could give me no reason why their finish would bubble like it did. I would have a hard time using them again myself...



Did you sand and reapply? How'd it finally come out?


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## mpminter (Mar 21, 2011)

The vast majority of the surface was fine, so I spot sanded the bubbles with a 3m pad (the gray one that's supposed to replace 00 steel wool) and recoated. It came out pretty good and the customer was thrilled. I called Sikkens and talked to a technical rep and he couldn't give me a solid answer other than to try thinning it next time.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

mpminter said:


> The vast majority of the surface was fine, so I spot sanded the bubbles with a 3m pad (the gray one that's supposed to replace 00 steel wool) and recoated. It came out pretty good and the customer was thrilled. I called Sikkens and talked to a technical rep and he couldn't give me a solid answer other than to try thinning it next time.


He would go with three coats clear satin. Wonder if the satin/semi combo was an issue (shouldn't have been)? He wants something he can "maintain" and not have to worry about a major refinishing job down the line.


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## DanielMDollaPainting (Feb 24, 2011)

Mcklosky's Spar marine varnish.


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

mpminter said:


> I recently used the Cetol door and window in gloss. the project was two coats of door and window mahogany satin top coated with one coat of gloss, and the gloss bubbled. The temp was in the high 70's, low humidity, and no direct sunlight. all of the finish was applied by brush (3" Purdy Syntox), and it was not applied very thick. I called the company, and they could give me no reason why their finish would bubble like it did. I would have a hard time using them again myself...


That would be off gassing.I would not recommend anything but the 3 coats.But if a customer wants a gloss I would a few days after the last coat to apply the clear.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

aaron61 said:


> That would be off gassing.I would not recommend anything but the 3 coats.But if a customer wants a gloss I would a few days after the last coat to apply the clear.


That's sort of what was wondering. You wouldn't think it would make a difference staying with the same brand (he didn't say but I assume he did) but funny things can happen when you switch sheens.


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

aaron61 said:


> That would be off gassing.I would not recommend anything but the 3 coats.But if a customer wants a gloss I would a few days after the last coat to apply the clear.


Beat me to it  When products off gas like that they'll either bubble, or stay tacky. Really need to wait 24hrs between coats minimum, longer in colder temps.


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

researchhound said:


> That's sort of what was wondering. You wouldn't think it would make a difference staying with the same brand (he didn't say but I assume he did) but funny things can happen when you switch sheens.


It's not the compatability of the brand.It's that the gloss does not breath.
Althou we don't have this problem when we have used minwax.We can stain & put 2 coats of semi on in 1 day?


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## mpminter (Mar 21, 2011)

Thanks for the feedback. Just to clarify a couple points, I was using the Sikkens door and window gloss topcoat over the colored satin. The door had sat for about a day, but I think in the future I will leave it for at least 48hrs. Also, I may thin it out with paint thinner and use a couple coats even lighter than the one I applied in this case. I had tried the McCloskey's product, but learned that it is not compatible with Sikkens, and had to strip the door a second time. Sikkens is a "micro-permeable" coating (according to them), and is not compatible with traditional spar urethanes. So now I have almost a whole gallon of gloss spar urethane to get rid of...


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## mpminter (Mar 21, 2011)

Actually, now that I think about it, the garage doors that I finished had been sitting for 2-3 days before they were top coated with the gloss, and they bubbled too. That's kind of why I didn't think off gassing was my problem


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

mpminter said:


> So now I have almost a whole gallon of gloss spar urethane to get rid of...


Woodland just got a sweet bird house, maybe make a donation :jester:


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

mpminter said:


> Thanks for the feedback. Just to clarify a couple points, I was using the Sikkens door and window gloss topcoat over the colored satin. The door had sat for about a day, but I think in the future I will leave it for at least 48hrs. Also, I may thin it out with paint thinner and use a couple coats even lighter than the one I applied in this case. I had tried the McCloskey's product, but learned that it is not compatible with Sikkens, and had to strip the door a second time. Sikkens is a "micro-permeable" coating (according to them), and is not compatible with traditional spar urethanes. So now I have almost a whole gallon of gloss spar urethane to get rid of...


Yeah - they are pretty specific about not using other products over theirs.


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

researchhound said:


> Yeah - they are pretty specific about not using other products over theirs.


I think much of it is in regards to failure. Who's to blame? Thats where finger pointing starts, easier to just say "dont do it".


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

NCPaint1 said:


> I think much of it is in regards to failure. Who's to blame? Thats where finger pointing starts, easier to just say "dont do it".


I agree. Also want you to just buy/use their products. Like BM insisting you use their retarder rather than Floetrol.


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

researchhound said:


> I agree. Also want you to just buy/use their products. Like BM insisting you use their retarder rather than Floetrol.


Not necessarily. The BM extender is made specifically for Aura, same resins. Thats one where I would stick with the recommendation. 

Caulk, and spackle are 2 products where most companies wont specifically recommend a product, or THEIRS. Primers on the other hand, they will usually recommend their primer, but its not mandatory.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

NCPaint1 said:


> Not necessarily. The BM extender is made specifically for Aura, same resins. Thats one where I would stick with the recommendation.
> 
> Caulk, and spackle are 2 products where most companies wont specifically recommend a product, or THEIRS. Primers on the other hand, they will usually recommend their primer, but its not mandatory.


It has been with Aura that I've done that and wondered how truly necessary it was versus them just wanting to sell their products. Didn't want to waste some expensive paint, not to mention ruin a paint job, to find out.


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## Holly (Jun 14, 2011)

ReNt A PaInTeR said:


> Agreed on Sikkens Cetol Door and Window Satin, I did 3 coats on this door 3 years ago and still looks like new. :thumbsup:


COOL door!


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