General Finishes Enduro Water Based Lacquer vs Polyacrylic

[daviddoria]

I have just finished spraying my first gallon of General Finishes Polyacrylic. I loved the water-based aspected of it. Before I buy another one, I was wondering what the difference between this and their Enduro Water Based Lacquer is? Their website keeps the "professional" Endurovar line very separated from the "retail" line, so they don't offer comparisons of these two.

 

In fact, I was just looking at pricing, and I didn't see Polyacrylic for sale anymore? Has it been completely replaced by High Performance?

 

Any thoughts?

 

Thanks,

 

David

[AceHoleInOne]

First, GF no-longer produces the Polyacrylic. 

 

Second, you can call a product whatever you want. Acrylic by itself is too hard, usually you modify it with a urethane to add toughness and flexibility. The more urethane you add the more expensive it is. Polyacrylic is a blend of acrylic and urethane...more acrylic than urethane. High Performance is the other way around...more urethane than acrylic.

 

Third, GF Enduro lacquer is probably most similar to the former retail polyacrylic GF no-longer makes. It has more acrylic, hence why it is most cost effective to purchase. 

 

Last, I'm thinking your confusing the Enduro-var name with the Enduro product line. Endurovar is a total different animal.

 

-Ace-

 

 

 

 

[daviddoria]

Ace,

 

Thanks for the explanation. Sorry about the terminology confusion - I fixed it in the original question for clarity.

 

So the question then is what's the appliation and/or result difference between a finish with more acryli versus one with more urethane? Is one "easier" to apply somehow? I know with "real" lacquer there is the property (like shellac) that one coat "burns in" to the next coat, which seems like it gives you potential to fix errors, etc., but I don't believe that is the case with any of the water based options?

 

Does more acrylic produce a more "plastic-y" look? Would one be able to to tell the difference by looking at it if I use the water based lacquer vs High Performance? Or is it simply a durability difference?

 

Thanks for your help,

David

[AceHoleInOne]

Both are easy to apply. No I don't think either one has a plastic look. Try to remember that acrylic would be used on items that don't require a lot of protection such as picture frames, fireplace mantles, etc. Poly urethanes are designed for items that require more protection such as table tops.

 

-Ace-