Jerry_in_SD Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Hi Guys, I have been applying GF Enduro-VAR topcoat to a small table top via HVLP spray. This is for a small kitchen table made from African Mahogany. I applied 6 coats because this table will see daily hard use. My technique was to spray the edges before moving on to the top. I sanded all surfaces, including the edges generously with 400 grit after each coat. After the final coat I noticed that the edges had an orange peel like consistency (see photo). I'm not sure what caused this. I figure it was maybe one of the following: 1. I applied too heavy on the vertical edges causing the finish to sag as it cured. 2. Overspray from spraying the top. Any idea what I could have done wrong? Technique? I'm thinking about sanding just the edges smooth with 400 and then applying a final coat with a foam brush. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Actually looks like dry spray from the picture, not enough material used. Shoot the edges like you did. Then shoot the top. Then finish with a quick shoot around the edges to re-wet, while the top is still wet. That way the over-spray melts into the wet finish. Should take care of that issue. The edges we tend to go light with the spray gun because of fear of runs. Also, use a lazy Susan under a board so you can rotate the top quickly while spraying light coats on the edges as you spin the top around. -Ace- Enduro-Var is a pretty thick finish with lots of solids. 6 coats seems like a lot. 3 coats applied wet should be all your really need. EDIT...oops your spraying mahog so your probably needing to fill the grain. Just as long as your sanding back good. So 6 coats sanded back is like 3 ish to 4 coats. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 ==>Expert advice needed on finishing problem Well, you’ve certainly come to the wrong place… ==>I applied 6 coats because this table will see daily hard use Usually a bad idea to go thick for durability… Better idea to use a more durable finish (conv varnish). ==>orange peel There are a few causes of orange peel, but mostly either too thick or not allowing enough inter-coat drying… I don’t know how thick your individual coats were or how much you sanded-back… With too thick a finish, you can get cracking, curing issues and a boat-load of other problems… How long did you let each coat dry? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_in_SD Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Each coat got four or more hours of drying with a garage heated to about 75 deg and low humidity. Even thick the finish would flash off in about 20 min. Yes, I did six coats to fill the pores in the mahogany. Next time I will use grain filler and fewer coats. I should say this a Greene&Greene inspired design. Terrible to use such a thick coat on beautiful African Mahogany - kind of mutes the figure. Again, is for daily use in kitchen. Wanted to do it right and get a sheet of glass to cover the finished product but was vetoed by the boss. I'm really behind in my finishing skills. I shot this same stuff on cherry cabinets for a kitchen and had zero problem. You really can't see this too much on the edges. Wife says to leave it as is as top look fine. Just bugs me I don't have a professional finish. Base is fine as I wiped on Arm-R-seal which looks great. Maybe I should have stuck with that for the top but I was concerned about durability. I may yet try to sand the edges level and carefully brush on a thin top coat. Still thinking about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatworks Today Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 What are you using for spraying the material? To me it looks like either the material was too thick (not thinned enough), or not enough air to atomize the spray (it's a fine balance between the two). How does the top look? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_in_SD Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 It's an Earlex 5500 so not high end. I've sprayed this material before with no trouble. The thought occurred to me to maybe thin with 10% water but the viscosity didn't seem different from before however the can was opened last June. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatworks Today Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 I'd give it a good sanding with 600 then 800 to knock everything down, thin the material 10-20% (possibly a little more) and spray a *light* but still wet topcoat and call it done. Final coat I'd hit the edges, then top and depending on how everything looks possibly the edges again. ** be careful about the edges; since the finish is going to be thinned it will have more tendency to sag or run if too heavy. I'm not familiar with the settings on an earIex, but do a test spray on a piece of cardboard; you want a nice even fan pattern roughly the width of the distance you're spraying from (if you're holding the gun 10" away from the work surface, you want roughly a 10" pattern that lays down a uniformly wet spray). This is just a VERY rough guideline, but may help with technique. I wouldn't worry about having it look perfect off the gun as you'll have the option of rubbing it out once cured (presuming you're not using a high gloss finish). Good luck! It's gonna look awesome ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Break out the ford cup. Move faster on the edges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 It's an Earlex 5500 so not high end. I've sprayed this material before with no trouble. The thought occurred to me to maybe thin with 10% water but the viscosity didn't seem different from before however the can was opened last June. The Enduro-Var is a different animal. They recommend their thinner to thin the product. -Ace- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 You need to actually check the viscosity especially this time of year. Sometimes you need to thin but the majority of the time its just a matter of heating the finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 You need to actually check the viscosity especially this time of year. Sometimes you need to thin but the majority of the time its just a matter of heating the finish. Appears Jerry mentioned the shop is at 75 degrees. Just saying. -Ace- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Appears Jerry mentioned the shop is at 75 degrees. Just saying. -Ace- Shop may be at 75 doesn't mean the finish is at 75. Many don't heat their shops until its time to spray we don't know if this is the case or not. Many leave their cans on a cold concrete floor, we don't know if this is the case thus why they make viscosity cups. Besides you can heat WB to nearly 100 to change viscosity. It will lay down like glass heated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_in_SD Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 I actually kept the garage heated just to keep the workpiece, finish, gun, etc. all warm. I live in San Diego so keeping the garage warm is not too difficult (sorry to bring that up to you guys from the northeast right now ). I do think the finish was a tad too thick is if you are familiar with Enduro- var, that familiar orange peel like surface after first applied, took longer than I expected to level out. I just went around each edge and leveled out the surface with 400 grit and then carefully applied a thin coat with a foam brush. Came out fine - not perfect but much better than I had. Thanks all for your suggestions. Including thinning, I would probably 1) prefill the pores before topcoat or after first layer, 2) lighten up on the spray (I was too aggressive in my attempt to fill the pores with finish). I'll post some photos when done. Coming out ok but don't expect to confuse this with a Darrell Peart piece... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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