At last - a water base finish

[old_picker]

After chasing this for many years I have found a locally available precat water base finish that ticks all my boxes and more. It is made by Mirotone in Sydney whom I'm sure everyone is familiar with. The topcoat I have used on the last couple of projects is Mirotec WB 8060/10 which is the matt [low satin] version. They also have a /30 [satin] and /60 [semi gloss] versions. There is also a clear sanding sealer WB 8022 which I have tested as well.

The topcoat comes off the gun [1.2mm tip] nice using my 70/30 blend of lacquer and water. The sealer needs at least 2mm tip and is pretty high in solids but nice and clear when dry. Both dry for recoat in an hour and powder sand after two hours or so in the drying cupboard. What a nice change that is. I can shoot final topcoats in the morning and start flat sanding after lunch. I have found that I can cut the number of passes by 50% compared to 3220. This gets a decent enough build for flat sanding over porous wood such as swamp ash. Not sure about pore sink over say six months but over two months no sign.

As a cured finish it is similar mechanically to the 3220 I've used for years. It will chip easily enough and shows similar brittleness when drilling holes. It also repairs quite well and seems to melt into itself a little. Smells slightly of metho. If you are thinking that you'd like to avoid the toxic fog and eye watering stink of thinners this would be a great one to try. Comes in five liter bottles. They also have a two pack version which probably dries harder than the precat. Using the 3220 matt I found it would polish up to full gloss over time but not so 8060. It seems to resist polishing quite well retaining it's rather sleek silky feel. I've done solid colour using acrylic as a base colour coat and also as a shader using ubeaut water base and transtint stains.

Downside you need to be particular about cleaning the guns - I leave it in a couple of days max then blow it out with water followed by acetone then water again. A full pull down after each project is a must. This is especially critical with the sealer which loads up readily. You also need to be careful shooting over decals.

[Jack]

Nice work old picker!
Thanks for the R&D
I use the AC 3606 and that's a day between sands and 2 weeks before cutting
and buffing, love it but for the thinners
Have you tried buffing it?

Frank

[old_picker]

No I haven't tried buffing it - sanded at 1200 grit and rubbed it out with 0000 steel wool which leaves a pretty fine semi satin finish with no need of further work. Cannot see why the 60% gloss would not come up pretty bright with buffing. Full gloss goes 70% - 90% so you'd be well on the way to the lower end. Like any finish I would imagine too much heat would be a problem. I wouldn't hesitate to buff it after a warm day or 24 hours in drying cabinet.

[rocket]

The thinning is that 70% product 30%water? And how many coats would you apply? With 3220 I use 50/50 so thin coats and up to 10 coats but sanded back in between, except the final two or three.

Rod