Recommended Brands of Stains & Topcoats

[Mike Goetzke]

I work out of my attached garage so for the past 20 years or so I have been using WB products with my HVLP system. I have exclusively used Target Coatings but have had a few issues that make me want to look elsewhere. The last issue was on a medicine cabinet I built. It was built to match a vanity and tall cabinet I made. I used Minwax Natural oil based stain and topcoated the vanity & tall cabinet with Emtech EM9300 - no issues. Nowe I was running low with the 9300 so thought I'd use two build up coats of EM6000 I had and then apply two coats of EM9300. The web site claims they are compatible if you let it dry for 1/2 a day. My stained pieces have been sitting/drying for 2-3 weeks. I tested the EM6000 on the backside of the cabinet and it looked fine. Then I spray one side of the doors & shelves but sprayed the whole cabinet. I go away for 45 minutes and go back to spray the other sides and the pieces seemed pale. The EM6000 seems to have removed the color of the stain! I originally stained before assembly so now that I have to re-sand and stain the corners will never look as good as they could have.

I laugh at it now but several years ago I built a sewing table for my daughter. She wanted pink! So I got some WB stain and checked with the stain supplier and Target coatings to see if they were compatible. Both assured me I was good to go. Well, after applying the topcoat all my beautiful components turned bright orange! I was able to recover by buying dye that I could put in the finish itself.

So I'm on the hunt for a new brand of finishes.

 

[P_K]

I'd avoid General Finishes at all costs. Their dyes are ok but their WB varnishes are just straight-up garbage and there's no way to contact them for support except through their Facebook group. Totally infuriating that they've removed the phone number and email from their website and product labels.

My go to's are generally either EM8000 or shellac.

 

[Redromad]

I have never used General Finishes top coats but I have used their stains and recently had issues with the Esspresso color. I top coat stain with Kem-Aqua water based but am interested in other options

 

[Packard]

The only G-F product I use is their “milk paint” which is really a modern day acrylic meant to mimic the appearance of milk paint. It is an indoor/outdoor finish. Easy to apply and brushes on beautifully and offers a superior look of a sprayed on finish with no brush marks. But a very matte finish.

I have tried a number of different manufacturers’ clear coats, and none seemed substantially superior to Minwax’s offerings. In magazine reviews the Minwax clear coats are consistently number 1 or number 2 in the rankings.

From a serious woodworker’s point of view, the most serious drawback is the pooh-poohing from other woodworkers and the fact that it is easily purchased almost everywhere. Serious woodworkers like to brag that they used a product that simple hobbyists know nothing about.

 

[onocoffee]

Maybe look into Mohawk Rockhard. It's a clear coat that you can spray on that has been very clear and stable - but I've not used it on stained surfaces.

 

[Mike Goetzke]

Target coatings had email conversation with me but I'm still not in a comfort zone. When I finished the matching vanity with 9300 it wasn't bad but I let the cabinet sit in the garage for a while while I finished prep in the bathroom. It wasn't bad but even though I gave the topcoat way more time than the minimum to dry it seemed like parts that were touching stuck to each other. I gave Target my stain info and was told I probably didn't let the stain dry long enough. OK, so on the medicine cabinet that had the blushing they said maybe the stain was let to dry too long.. What! I sent them pics of a sample piece I did after having the issue to see if it could be duplicated and it was. Now on the test I only let the stain dry for 4 hours. My 9300 is fine but the 6000 not so good. This can become an expensive game for the hobbyist if you spend $100+ on a topcoat and then find it incompatible with your stain. Maybe there is a common "sealer" to use with all finishes? They also suggested to always spray on a mist coat for the first coat and then follow up with 3mil thick coats. I had been laying down 3mil on the first coat.