Several weeks ago I learned that Bartley finishes had been acquired by
Lawrence McFadden. Apparently Lawrence McFadden has been around for quite
some time and is a family owned business. I was inquiring about buying some
Bartley's stain from them and the service manager and I exchange emails
discussing their product and the Bartley product. He was in need of an
older Bartley stain color that I had and offered a generous trade. I traded
1/2 of a 1/2 pint of Bartley Golden Oak Gel stain and I got 2 quarts of the
LMF product in return. I chose a gel stain and their gel varnish.
I had a small job this week and tried the LMF gel varnish and was very
impressed. Better IMHO than Bartley's on a good day and much better than
General Finishes Gel Varnish. Thicker than General Finishes but thinner
than Bartley's on a good day. The varnish went on evenly and did not start
drying immediately. The product will set in 95 degree heat for a "few"
minutes until you can wipe off the excess with out your wiping towel
sticking to the finish. No wipe marks were visible and I was able to apply
4 coats yesterday between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm.
The beauty to gel varnishes if you have not used one is that clean up
involves washing your hands unless you wear gloves. You can almost
immediately handle the pieces and dust IS NOT a problem. Runs are non
existent and if you accidentally leave a glob it can be dissolved away with
the application of more varnish at that spot.
They sent me a bulk price sheet and IIRC the single quart price is about par
for a gel stain at about $15-$16 per quart.
IF you buy by the case you get a substantial savings.
1 case of 4 quarts is $32.60
1 case of 6 pints is 30.06
1 case of 12, 1/2 pints is 40.66
The quart case price is about 1/2 the normal single quart price.
http://lawrencemcfadden.com/
No affiliation other than getting a couple of free samples.
"Patriarch" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Leon" <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
>> Several weeks ago I learned that Bartley finishes had been acquired by
>> Lawrence McFadden. Apparently Lawrence McFadden has been around for
>> quite some time and is a family owned business. <snip>
>>
>> http://lawrencemcfadden.com/
>>
>
> So, Leon, this looks pretty good. But this seems to be a 'trade-only'
> operation, not that that's bad. But it could take me better than a decade
> to go through a case of gel varnish.
>
> No dealer network?
>
> Patriarch
IIRC you buy direct and you can buy in less than case quantities. They do
sell to the public.
"Leon" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> Several weeks ago I learned that Bartley finishes had been acquired by
> Lawrence McFadden. Apparently Lawrence McFadden has been around for
> quite some time and is a family owned business. <snip>
>
> http://lawrencemcfadden.com/
>
So, Leon, this looks pretty good. But this seems to be a 'trade-only'
operation, not that that's bad. But it could take me better than a decade
to go through a case of gel varnish.
No dealer network?
Patriarch
B A R R Y <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> On Sat, 11 Aug 2007 11:39:28 -0500, Patriarch
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> But this seems to be a 'trade-only'
>>operation, not that that's bad.
>
> Check out the "Shop Online" button.
>
Well, I started to, but the website slowed down to 'too slow to wait for'.
I guess I'm just an impatient old fart.
Can I buy less than a case at a time?
Patriarch
B A R R Y <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> On Sat, 11 Aug 2007 19:47:22 -0500, "Leon"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>
>>Also, I forgot to mention, this is an oil based varnish however
>>contrary to the normal amber color that most oil based varnishes have
>>this one is kinda purple.
>
> So is Pratt & Lambert "38".
>
> Hmmmmm...
>
Leon got me started yesterday. There's a new Sherwin Williams store in the
town, and I went looking. They had less than the much more conveniently
located hardware store. And NO Pratt & Lambert. Pointed me to the Ace
Hardware down the street, which I hadn't been into in several years. Still
haven't.
Most of the Sherwin Williams owned brands seem to be sold 'elsewhere', or
so it seemed at first blush.
This proper finishing technique stuff is somewhat of a pain.
Patriarch
On Sat, 11 Aug 2007 11:39:28 -0500, Patriarch
<[email protected]> wrote:
> But this seems to be a 'trade-only'
>operation, not that that's bad.
Check out the "Shop Online" button.
---------------------------------------------
** http://www.bburke.com/woodworking.html **
---------------------------------------------
On Sat, 11 Aug 2007 19:47:22 -0500, "Leon"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>Also, I forgot to mention, this is an oil based varnish however contrary to
>the normal amber color that most oil based varnishes have this one is kinda
>purple.
So is Pratt & Lambert "38".
Hmmmmm...
---------------------------------------------
** http://www.bburke.com/woodworking.html **
---------------------------------------------
"Patriarch" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>>
>
> Well, I started to, but the website slowed down to 'too slow to wait for'.
> I guess I'm just an impatient old fart.
>
> Can I buy less than a case at a time?
>
> Patriarch
Yes they sell Gel Paints, Varnishes, and Stains 1 quart, pint, and 1/2 pint
at a time.
Keep in mind however if you buy only 2 quarts you can get the 4 quart case
price for just a couple dollars more.
Also, I forgot to mention, this is an oil based varnish however contrary to
the normal amber color that most oil based varnishes have this one is kinda
purple. I noticed that the wood does not yellow as much when applied like
most oil based varnishes.