Painting and Decorating Concourse
734-464-3883
SM
Waterbased finishes are very popular among DIY'ers because of the convience of soap and water clean up and low odor.
Waterborne finishes are quick drying and non yellowing which makes them a good finish for faux marblizing.
Once they are cured they have good resistance to solvents and water - they do not water spot like shellac.
Some of the disadvantages of the waterbornes is that they have a cold blueish cast to them, the adhesion is not as good as with a varnish, and they are softer and scratch a little easier than varnish.
Waterbased Wood Finishes
Our "terms of use" governs your use of our website; by using our website, you accept this disclaimer in full. If you disagree with any part of our "terms of use", do not use our website.
Minwax Polycrylic
The waterborne finish I use is Minwax Polycrylic which comes in satin, semi gloss, and gloss finishes. Polycrylic dries in about 2 hours for quick re-coat. Polycrylic even comes in a spray can for small items.
Minwax Polycylic
Non yellowing
Most waterbased wood finishes are non-yellowing, this is particularly important for white washed or pickling stains. All oil based finishes will yellow and amber-out the white or pastel pickling color.
My favorite woodgraining system.
You can do an all-waterborne faux woodgraining system using Bullseye 123 for the base coat, Modern Masters Tintable Glaze and Minwax Polycrylic for the finish.
Great for sheen stripes
You can do shimmer stripes with a semi-gloss water based clear coat over a flat latex base coat. See How to Paint Faux Stripes. You can apply the clear with a foam mini roller (smaller width stripes), or a short nap 7” roller for wider stripes. You will need to quickly tip off any air bubbles with a light stroke of a brush after laying down each stripe.
Enclosed areas
If you are finishing wood in an enclosed area that you cannot ventilate well, I would stay away from oil finishes. See Ventilation for using fans to exhaust fumes and bring in fresh air (even with a water based system).
Sanding between coats - don’t use steel wool
Use sandpaper to lightly sand between coats to remove debris and level out the finish. Stay away from steel wool with water based finishes because any of the steel grit that you may not vacuum clean (maybe in a groove or corner) will rust. Instead, you can use synthetic wool (scotch brite type pads) for curved and contoured surfaces that sandpaper doesn't conform to very well.
Grain raising
One of the problems with water based finishes used directly over raw wood is raised grain, and even discoloration. I don’t think you will have a problem if you stain first with an oil stain (I know that is not as “green friendly”, but it will work), otherwise try the water based stain system of Minwax, which calls for a prestain sealer, then water based stain, then you can (at least per Minwax) use the water based Polycrylic with minimal grain raising. If you are applying the Polycrylic you can do so directly to the wood if you do a pre-finish technique as stated:
- Sand the raw wood
- Moisten the wood with a rag or sponge dipped in water
- Allow the wood to dry
- Then sand off the raised grain
You can then clean the dust off with a vacuum and follow that up with a micro fiber tack rag. Do not use standard tack rags with water based finishes. They contain oils that can contaminate the surface and repel the stain and finish. Use oil-less, micro fiber tack cloths with water based finishes (I use them for all finishes).
Adhesion
Be careful with water based clear coats. Many of them do not have the kind of adhesion that you would expect from an oil based varnish. Water based finishes are easily repelled by waxy dirty surfaces. Don’t use them over sanding sealers which often contain water repelling stearates. I don’t use them over shellac either because shellac contains a natural wax. Follow the label closely as to surface preparation and comparability with other finishes.
The Internet Paint Store
"the right way to buy paint supplies"
 | ||||
Faux finishing clear coat.
If you are doing marbling or clear coating over any faux finish, you will want a non-yellowing clear coat that will not distort the final finish color. I use Minwax Polycrylic for all sorts of faux finishing . I even use it with my wood graining. Although, wood graining will be fine with an oil varnish too, because the deep wood tones will not be affected by yellow too much. I use it for the convenience. See striping below.
