What I’m looking for is materials and process for a shop finish. We’ve done maybe 20 boards so far with good results using polyester resin/ poly urethane blanks then sanding resin/ sanding finish to 200 through 600.
We’re not concerned about the structural integrety as this is fine…we’re interested in purely asthetics to produce a show room finish without the gloss coat.
Sanding burn is becoming more infrequent, but it is still a concern. We have experimented with doing 2 sanding coats (one thicker and one thin, sanding between coats) and have had good results, but…
What we’re interested in is painting on (with air gun application, and not spray can) some form of acrylic clear with a mat finish, something that may be sanded and/ or polished.
This is what we’ve found:
Acrylic floor finish would suggest a polished finish (mayber not what we’re looking for, but perhaps we should try it)
Automotive quality clear acylic and flatenning agent is something we’re interested in but need some brand names of what has worked well (need more input on this stuff)
I’ve also heard of a clear acrylic lacquer (from NZ) for the finish coat, but we’ve failed to find it in Canada–it’s apparently bad (contains lead).
Also, acrylic clear enamel–haven’t tried it, but have only found it in a spray can.
In conclusion, we’re looking for some sort of clear finish that produces a shop quality/ show-room finish (not necessarily glossy), that may be applied through an air brush, and that may be sanded and/ or polished.
Howzit canuk, Fiberglass Hi, sells a water based acrylic finish by the gal that can be sprayed. It costs about $17 a gal and goes a long way. The only thing about spraying acrylic is make sure you clean the sprayer ( water works) right after spraying or the acrylic will build up in the sprayer and clog it. Aloha,Kokua
Thanks for the reply. I will look into similar products in my neck of the woods.
Just looking for a description of your results with this “water-based acrylic finish”. As an example…when closely examining professionally made boards at your local shop, some have the generic sanding marks still left on the surface (faint, but noticable to the trained eye in the right light), and others have an absolute clear finish, on top of what appears to be a sanding finish, with no visible sanding marks whatsoever.
Just looking for a description of the finish you end up with I guess, and whether it’s the same as what I described above. Also, how long does the finish last i.e. is it just for show room quality initially and then wear down to your sanding finish layer?