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Shoutout to the guy at the Portland trade show who saved my project
I was there demoing a new water-based lacquer on a maple table. Third coat went on cloudy, like milk. Showed it to an old timer at the booth next to mine. He asked if I'd cleaned the surface with mineral spirits before starting. I had. He said, 'That's your problem. That stuff leaves a film. Use denatured alcohol.' Switched to it, and the next coat dried crystal clear. Anyone else run into this with water-based finishes?
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aaron_flores845mo ago
Never supposed to do" is a stretch. I've used mineral spirits as a final wipe on raw wood for years before water based topcoats. The key is letting it flash off completely. If you rush it and trap the solvent, that's when you get the clouding. Denatured alcohol just dries faster so it's harder to mess up. The old timer's fix worked, but calling it a basic rule ignores how many people use spirits without issue.
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jessel355mo ago
Cleaned the surface with mineral spirits" is wild to me. That's like the one thing you're never supposed to do before a water-based finish. It's basic prep.
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richard_ramirez3mo ago
Maybe @aaron_flores84 is right though, a lot of people do it without issues if the spirit flashes off fully.
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