On Jan 30, 8:28 pm, "Mike Marlow" wrote:
Hey... I didn't mean I had THE answer, just another possibility.

Sorry Robert - I wasn't try to imply that. I was trying to chide in with
another idea. Bad wording I think. My bad.

(snip)

We're on the same page. I felt this urge to be anal and cover all the bases
I think.

Mike, I never took it the wrong way. I was kind of kidding around
myself. I think you only want to cover the bases (as I do) because
you know how many variables there are. And if you are like me, you
are instantly thrown back into the nightmare of not having one damn
clue of what you did wrong, only to find one little, tiny thing.
Learning to apply is rewarding, but to do it right there are a lot of
variables, and for me, I have found out that there is a new starting
point with every finish.

Doesn't seem that long ago I was relying on your encouragement to get
after spraying poly. I was spraying a little lacquer, lots of
industrial oils, and wouldn't screw with poly at all unless I could
pad it on. Now I spray with wild abandon, and it is EASY to shoot.
You were right, but chances are without some advice and a subtle push,
it might not have happened yet. It's just too easy to bad mouth poly
in all its forms, especially if you don't want to use it!

You should see the stuff I am using now for just about everything. It
is a conversion lacquer (not pre-catalysed) that has poly urethane
resins in it. You can use it on just about everything, it is very
stable, very predictable, and has excellent adhesion, clarity and
wear. I buy it straight from the guy that makes it, and it winds up
being something like $45 a gallon, which really isn't bad for a
product of this caliber. It builds great, dries hard as hell. You
can recoat as many times as you want with about 30 - 45 minutes
between coats. I had some trouble learning to use it and went through
a bunch before I started using it on client projects. The only down
side... you cannot brush this stuff.

But the guy that makes it is someone you can talk to on the phone. He
was sypathetic to the fact it was 90 degrees here in June, 95+ in
July, and well over 100 degrees in August. I now have all my formulas
written down so I'll know how much to "hit" the product to accelerate,
retard, or thin when spraying. I am watching the mahogany front door
of a local country club to see how my finish is holding up. I sprayed
it over the summer when it was in the early to mid nineties, with
about 80% relative humidity. Looks great, taking the beating really
well. One more S. Texas summer ought to tell the tale.

Anyway, always good to see you around, Mike. Working on anything
interesting?

Robert