Cabinet finishing with Automotive polyurethane

In addition to playing with my new gopro and evo stabilizer I wanted to post a video of the use of polyurethanes on cabinetry, the automotive grade urethane is the way to go if you want the toughest of finishes that will never yellow. In this video shot in the Thomas Craven Wood finishing studios in Van Nuys California, Tom had a residential customer that wanted the best of the best and commercial grade finish, we are using a PLC automotive urethane that you can buy from Annex paint, (I’ll get that product up on he web site) roughly the materials shown with the reducer were about $150.00. the gallon of material, the quart of activator and the gallon of reducer.  That’s 4 X what you would pay for a similar amount of Pre Cat lacquer  and two to three times  what you would pay for a conversion varnish.  The walnut paneling  had a stain and color treatment which was sealed with a CIC vinyl sealer after which it received the treatment you see in the video.

For note, I didn’t edit out any of the spraying footage to shorten the video length. what you see is three coats of material apply in rapid succession. the length of the video is how long it took to apply.  After spending a few days curing  from that application it is installed.

Another thing to note here, is the application of the “FOG” coat as its called the first of the three applications, as show you are barely covering the surface.

For Reference, the term, “Flash off” is used to refer to letting the faster evaporating solvents evaporate. Solvents in coatings are staged and timed. the faster evaporating solvents allow the materials to flow out nicely and level out. the slower solvents allow the resins to harden properly. like concrete there are stages to drying and curing.

Do you need that much protection in your home? Most likely not.  I would generally recommend this product for and exterior application, front doors, fancy wooden garage doors and the like.  Or in commercial establishments, bar and table tops of restaurant dining tables. A big family with young kids, over worked parents and no maid? might not be a bad Idea… Smuckers Jelly if left on the minimally finished pre-cat cabinet door will soften the finish if left on for  a few days. I was told by a 4 year old authority on the matter that finger painting with Jelly was really fun. who Knew…

Feel free to post comments I’ll try to answer them, you are welcome to email me if you have immediate questions  you can visit the annex web http://www.annexpaint.com site for purchasing these products.

Best,

Greg Saunders
Annex Paint

Pinnacle Polyester high gloss full fill finish Demonstration

Thomas Craven, has been a master at getting the high gloss full fill polyester finish and so I asked him to help me do a how to video on the subject. The video pretty much says it all. if you are interested in doing this your self you can contact me at http://www.annexpaint.com for help in getting the materials to do this with.

If you are interested in having a this finish done professionally contact Thomas Craven via his web site at http://www.tcwoodfinishers.com/ If you do contact Thomas let him know you saw the video.

Full Grain Fill Finish produced with Pinnacle Polyester and Pinnacle Polyurethane

The subject of how to get that full grain filled high gloss / high polished look without over building a lacquer to the point that it cracks has come up from time to time. I recently had a customer who builds and finishes custom walnut tables to a mirror finish that are gorgeous beyond belief have a serious fracturing issue. He had been building up pre-catalyzed lacquer beyond what the manufacture recommended. While this had worked well in the short term, cracks and fracturing of the finish began showing up after a few months.

The best solution I have found for this problem is the use of polyester sanding sealer. This is a great system however it is not something that should be attempted by someone new to the business of furniture finishing as there are three components to mix and if not done right will never dry. Eight to twelve mils of this material may be applied in one application to fill wood grain and or pores and it won’t crack and fracture like lacquers and conversion varnishes do. This is the finish used on pianos.  Once you have applied enough polyester sanding sealer to fill the wood grain and pores you can then block sand it smooth and flat. You can then go straight to final sanding and polish if you wish. This would provide the hardest most durable finish. However, polyester does turn yellow over time. An alternative is to top coat the polyester with non yellowing lacquer or high grade two part polyurethane like the Pinnacle brand we have sold for years now. This polyurethane has UV inhibitors added to it to slow the effects of yellowing that are typical of polyurethanes.

Thomas Craven has been a finisher in the valley for many years and has consistently produced excellent products. He and his team have mastered the Polyester/ Polyurethane finish as you can see in this video.  You can reach Thomas Craven through his web site at:  http://www.TCWoodFinishers.com

If you are interested in purchasing these products you can contact me through the Annex Paint Store web site at: http://www.annexpaint.com

Greg Saunders
Annex Paint
greg@annexpaint.com

CIC Coatings Water based Conversion Varnish test

I apologize for having been remiss in my blogging duties it has been a busy year. I have a new camera and as well some new things to share.

I went back to a job that a customer did a year ago to see how the CIC acrylic coatings were holding up. In general the CIC 3022 Acrylic lacquer was doing great, on verticals and in bookshelves it looked great. however on counter tops after a year of being in side of a well attended church there were some signs of wear. Jody Toole of Jody Tool’s finishing started to do some tests to see what he could apply that would be harder yet easy to apply and yet not change the color or appearance.

the following video is the test that he did. for reference in the test he used the CIC acrylic lacquer, a 550 VOC pre-cat from mohawk and the CIC coatings water based clear Conversion Varnish. all of the panels were sealed with a vinyl sealer first. He them wiped them down with an lacquer thinner on a rag to see how fast the coating would degrade.

Additional note: although it is not shown here Jody did a separate test where he applied the water based conversion varnish directly over the acrylic lacquer and it looked great and stuck well.

If you are interested in knowing more about these products give me a call.

Greg Saunders
Annex Paint
http://www.annexpaint.com
818-349-9297

Golden cabinet doors; unique finishing technique by Thomas Craven

I’m going to have to make a new category for this one as it is not something I have covered before, but the process was so unique and produced such a cool effect I decided that I had to record it.

Using gold leaf or gold power in paint and clear coats has been around for some time but what Thomas Craven has done is used the gold powder in a Pinnacle polyester resin stippled on with a natural sponge and then clear coated with  the clear polyester. The effect is a multi layered effect that gives the finish a depth that is very attractive. See for your self .

featured in the video is Thomas Craven Master and owner of Thomas Craven studios in Van Nuys California you can see more of his work at his  web site at: http://www.tcwoodfinishers.com/ or contact him at: ThomasCraven@msn.com

If you are interested in the materials used you can contact me Greg Saunders at: greg@annexpaint.com