[Eddy Smiles]

Today I emailed Delta Paints concerning the following questions that I had on their Delta Creamcoat Gloss Varnish. I just completed a project where no matter how careful I was I still ended up with brush marks because the product seemed to be setting up extra fast. I've attached Delta's comments FYI!

If anyone has any thoughts on the matter I'm all ears....literally!

ref: Delta Creamcoat Gloss Varnish

1. Does it have a shelf life?

There really is not a shelf life problem with our products. I have had some of my bottles of Interior varnish for more than 10 yrs. If the product smells rancid or has thickened & dried in the bottle then it is time to replace them.
The Exterior Varnish has a shelf life of about 2 yrs. If it is thick and has a solid core in the bottle then it is old.

2. How can I determine the product experiation date on my bottle?


There is no expiration dates.


3. What is a sign of your varnish reaching the end of it's shelf life?


Solid core-the Exterior Varnish lasts about 2 yrs.


4. Can the gloss or satin varnish be thinned with water?


No, do not thin with tap water, you can use distilled water.


5. Will water extend the shelf life?


Adding water could cause the product to go bad by causing a bacteria. Water does not extend the shelf life.


I have a bottle of your product that seems to set up once applied extremely quickly leaving brush marks on the wood. I'm just wondering if it was thinned if there would be less brush marks.


It sounds like this bottle could be old product. It could also be the humidity or weather in your area causing it to dry too fast.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

well, could be our area, but if my acrylics start to thicken up, I add water and have no problem doing that....also if you want to slow down the drying time....get some "retardant" it is also useful if you want to be able to "blend" and the paint dries too fast to do that.

[Eddy Smiles]

Hi-Ho... I do that all the time to my run-of-the-mill acrylics but I wasn't sure about the water based polyurethanes. But you know that does bring up an interesting point. In the last WCI one contributer suggests that "thinning with water is falling out of favor... using water exclusively...breaks down the binder....the paint becomes very fragile and is easily rubbed off during normal handling." While still another contributer recommends for finishing his carving to "dilute 6 drops of....acrylic paint with 1 tablespoon of water." I guess even the experts don't always agree.

[Kenny_S]

You are correct Eddy. It is a matter of prefference and what works for one individual may not work for another. . Kind of like brand name tools or knives.
I use water to delute my paints as I like the wash look but depends on the look I am after also.

[susieq]

Eddy,
I use the Ceramcoat varnish exclusively on my carvings for the final coat. It works great for me so I will relay how I use it and maybe it will help, maybe not.....

I pour a little bit out on a small plastic plate that I keep special just for clearcoating. The far side of the dish is usually propped up slightly to keep the varnish from spreading out too thin in the plate, keeping it puddled up on the nearside to me. I don't pour out more than a couple of teaspoons at a time. I have an old empty plastic butter tub with water in it and an old dry rag handy on the work space. I wet the brush, just barely dab it on the rag and then into the varnish, not getting a big glob of varnish on the brush.
I apply to the carving in light strokes, brushing only in one direction or you will get bubbles in the finish..... It does dry VERY quickly but I like that.
The damp brush helps the varnish to flow smoothly and if there are ridges or "lace curtains" in the finish, (use a good light source to work by so you can see these when they happen) I have time to quickly (and very lightly) brush them out. Rinse your brush often in the water during the clearcoating. Don't try to cover too much area at once....work in small sections.

Also, make sure your brush is a correct shape for doing this. The golden takalon in a flat brush is a good choice.

Clearcoating the final coat is a time consuming process. It probably takes me a half hour to clear coat just an ornament like the longbeard I posted.
Hope this helps. Also, remember not to use steel wool to smooth any project that is going to be clearcoated in an acrylic finish as fine bits of the wool will imbed in the wood and will rust under the water-based finish.

susieq

[Eddy Smiles]

SusieQ... Goods tips! How about multiple coats? Do you sand in between? If so, wet or dry? What grit? I have never used steel wool. I generally give the wood a heavy sanding before doing my wood burning, then a light sanding after woodburning to remove any char and raised areas. In between coats I like to use a very fine sanding sponge. I don't know what grit it is but it seems to mar the finish without the fear of harming the woodburning and/or painting. As for my carvings I hardly ever sand, just hit them with a defuzzing disc, then paint and apply a coat of poly.

[susieq]

Eddy,
I do not sand after putting the final clear varnish on. I don't consider it neccessary. I sand the piece after carving...power carving needs to be sanded. Blow it off good with the compressor, then I clear coat the piece with cheap clear matt spray. At this point the first clear coat might raise grain or fuzzies and I might hit it with some super fine (600 grit or finer) sand paper just to knock off the fuzzies.

Once I have painted the piece, no more fuzzies are present and the wood is sealed up good enough that the Ceramcoat varnish will not raise any more grain or fuzzies.

But if your over all finishing process is a lot different than mine, you will have to see where you need to sand as you go. I still think that by the time you paint and are ready to apply the final varnish, you will no longer have fuzzies but you will have to find out what works best for you. I do apply two coats of the varnish.

By the way, when painting with the little bottles of acrylic paint, I pretty much apply it the same way as the varnish. Squeeze out a small blob on palete paper, apply with a damp brush...rinsing often to keep the paint from drying in the brush. Change your tub of water out frequently so you are not rinsing in dirty water.
painting.
susieq

[Eddy Smiles]

Thanks for all your helpful hits!