Finishing Question

On Feb 19, 8:36 pm, "scotlandrazor" <[email protected]> wrote:
> I have a client ( a bar) in which i installed a new 8' section of bar top, railing, etc. The owner now wants the rest of the bar refinished to match the new section. I have about 14 hours from start to finish to sand off old finish (not a problem), stain and apply protective finish. The issue is what type of Non-spray finish can I use? The drying time of a post-catalyzied lacquer can be forced by increasing the temp of the building but will it be dry to use in 10 hrs? any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Scot

Others will be along. Here's my 0.02, FWIW.

While sitting here thinking about it, I don't think I have ever seen a
post cat brushed, padded, or applied any other way than sprayed. I
guess you could, but most of today's finishes are made to be sprayed
so that you can get even application thickness. I think on most post
cats you want a coat at about 6mil, difficult to do evenly with a
brush. Barry...?

Post cat will give you a good surface, but you should be aware that
most are not very abrasion resistant (thinking of a bar top here) and
certainly NOT made for repeated dousings with water, alcohol, and
different cleaning agents including bleaches. They would be fine for
a house, but not so good for the hard use of a bar. At least not the
ones I got to!

Post cat will be finished when it is finished. In a shop environment,
it is easy to pin down the pot life, cure times, etc. Not so easy in
the field, believe me. And if you are on it before it finishes... you
will ruin the finish.
Period.

Post cat is not a repairable finish. You can coat over it, you can
sand and add more to it, but it dries so hard when properly applied
that adhesion/witness lines are always a big concern. Damage to the
top will stay just that. Stripping or sand this stuff is a real chore
and you have to get every tiny spec off before refinishing. Since it
is not a highly abrasive resistant finish you might want to look
elsewhere to get the repair option.

Of course under ideal circumstances, you would use one of the many
"bar top" finishes out there. Just about all of them are good. They
don't repair well either, but they are so durable they don't really
ever need it.

If I were in your shoes, I would take a look at some of the CAB
finishes (one part) that dry almost as hard, and are much easier to
control. You will be spraying, not brushing or padding the commercial
grade stuff, so get out the tape and the HVLP for it. Benjamin Moore
has a good product, and so does ML Campbell. My favorite is the
stuff I buy at Kwikkleen (888) 222-9767. They have people on staff
that can help you out, including the owner.

They have a modified urethane lacquer that works as well as urethane,
but sprays like lacquer. I have never had a bad experience with it,
and it DOES bond to itself, redissolving like lacquer. I have no idea
how it works.

When I refinish an entry door that doesn't need wood repair, I can
strip, sand, dye and put four coats of this finish on in one day. It
is dry enough to hang when I am ready to leave. Granted, I have
worked a lot with this stuff and spray it with my HVLP, but it is a
great example of what is out there.

Good luck.

If you find a finish that works in your time constraints that you can
apply successfully, I hope you come back here and tell us.

Robert

[email protected] wrote:
> I think on most post
> cats you want a coat at about 6mil, difficult to do evenly with a
> brush. Barry...?

No clue... I don't have much experience with that stuff.


> They have a modified urethane lacquer that works as well as urethane,
> but sprays like lacquer. I have never had a bad experience with it,
> and it DOES bond to itself, redissolving like lacquer. I have no idea
> how it works.

I can second the Kwick Kleen stuff. It has a recoat "window", but if
you miss it, it reopens five days later. I haven't used lots and lots
of it, but I'm impressed with what I've done.