Target Coatings EM6000 Lacquer Trail

Dan Mosley

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Palm Springs, Ca
First day off today since receving my shipment from Target Coatings. I bought EM-6000, EM-9300 (9300 shipped by mistake - I had ordered 9000) and some retarder. I decided to try out the 6000 - put some into a quart mason jar with 10% retarder and 10% distrilled water - mixed it up and put some in my airbrush with larger tip to try spraying. I chucked up a large vessel I had sanded and dyed as a practice pc to try it out on.

At 30 plus psi it was to hard to spray so I dumped a bit out and added some more water - sprayed very well but I had made it to thin and it made runs all over the place on the vessel. I wasn't sure what to do after it dried but thought I was playing around anyway so I soaked a rag with DNA and wiped it down - didn't look bad actually - let dry well, sanded lightly - then added just the 6000 to the spray bottlle to stiffen the mix up and tried again. This time it sprayed on very well - let dry for awhile and added 2 more coats with drying time in between.

See Pic Below - It was going to be a scrap pc just to practice and play with - Now, Im thinking I like it so ill try to add a few more coats or so and see how it goes....................

Note: I have a bunch of plastic small medicine cups with oz markings - Ill try tomm to make up some small batches and keep accurate record of the measurements for future mixing now that I have a idea about what im doing...........LOL
 

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I use a lot of EM6000, and rarely thin it, and have never used a retarder with it (my original bottle is still on the shelf). The only reason I thin is to make it soak in more when I am using it as a sealer... it is pretty thin to begin with, so I have never had to thin it for the sake of the gun.

I use either a turbine or a conversion gun - I clean the gun at least every 3-4 days (even though it only takes a minute or two), so if you have a gun rather than an airbrush, I suggest you try the gun, with un-diluted EM6000.
 
I think the 10% distilled - 10% retarder was meant for a wipe on type use but I can't remeber for sure. I just need to figure out the right consistency for the airbrush and then make a note so I can repeat when needed - I agree that I do not need the retarder even with the airbrush and I think the retarder idea was also for the wipe on application.

Next time im going to use my gravity feed HVLP - Kobalt from Lowes - and I know I will not need to do any mixing using that gun.

I usually have been using a couple coats of Zinseer shellac (dewaxed) or Zinseer sanding sealer prior to spraying but I can see your thnning of the 6000 would work just as good.

Showed the 6000 to a friend that makes small turnings but he does not use any spraying equipment, or buffing stuff and does all his finishes by hand. He wanted to know if I knew of a simple way to finish the lacquer once it has cured - meaning he does not want to use rottenstone, Mezerna and the other elaborate polishing that many use. I am not real sure how to answer his question, I suppose you could wet sand with 600 - 1500 - 2000 and then apply Renissance wax by hand and buff off by hand ???? Never tried it
 
I understand the retarder for brush on - you need to slow the drying enough so that the brush marks can flow lever, and the adjacent brush strokes can blend together. I only spray, so I have not used retarder.

The Zinser dewaxed shellac and sanding sealer (same product, different labels) pop the color of the grain, at least in my Walnut test, better than using EM6000 as a sealer. If bringing out the color of the wood is not required, EM6000 works fine as a sealer. As a sealer, I dilute it very slightly to help it penetrate the grain.

I bought my Porter Cable PSH-1 gun at Lowe's many years ago (great gun, especially for only $100). There are many copies of it - by the time you get to the $25 version, the quality is gone, but it looks like the Kobalt $90 is Lowe's current version of that gun. Try spraying with it. When done, take the tip off, flush water through the fluid path, and you are done cleaning.

You can dry sand the Target coatings within the hour, but wet sanding or using rubbing compounds requires the full cure time before you start (up to 5 days). For dry rub out (same day as spraying) I have had great luck with Mirlon synthetic steel wool, Micromesh sanding pads, Mirka abralon, or just fine (600 - 4000 grit) sandpaper and buffing with an old towel. If I want a super easy semigloss finish, just machine sand to 600-800 grit and rub with a towel while the finish is still soft (in the first day).

http://www.woodcraft.com/product/20...ven-total-scuff-pad-assorted-grit-3-pack.aspx
http://www.woodcraft.com/product/2005232/10574/micromesh-5-disk-assortment-pack.aspx
http://mirka-online.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Abralon+6"
 
Charlie.......Thanks............I use transtint dyes at times and then seal with the sealer because it prevents any possible bleed thru to the finish itself and gives a good clean base to build the finish on.

Next day off im going to try the better gun (Kobalt) and see how things work - thanks for the way to clean it up after spraying. I will try your idea on sanding and post results later when I get a chance....................Dan
 
Transtint dyes work great with the Target finishes. I rarely use them as separate dye, but just add a couple drops to the spray cup, and build the color as a toner. (I don't stain or dye projects, but use the tints to hide variations in the wood, or to hide sapwood.)
 
Bernie:::::: For whats it worth - I have the Kobalt small gravity feed spray gun from Lowes with a 1.3mm that came with it - it will spray it
 

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Bernie, I use a small gravity fed HVLP gun with a 1.2 tip, and regulate the pressure for about 8~10 psi out. Works great for the 6000. I've never used the 9000, so I can't speak to that.
 
Charlie I have a chance to pick up a new HVLP detail gun with a 1.2mm needle. Would this work without thinning the EM6000 or the 9000? Thanks.

My turbine guns are 1.4 mm. I believe my conversion gun (Porter Cable PSH1) is smaller. I bet it will work fine without thinning, but if you find you need to thin, it won't be very much. Plain water works fine.
 
..........for $20 never used you can't go wrong
Well... I am not sure. I started with the Porter Cable PSH1 HVLP conversion gun back when they were $100. There are lots of copies (it may also be a copy of something else). The $70 copies I watched people using seemed to be identical to my $100 unit. The $50 copies also looked good. When there was a sale for a copy at $25 I said "for $25 never used you can't go wrong." That $25 gun doesn't atomize the finish anywhere near as well as the $100 gun. I cannot use it for finish spraying. Rather than throwing it out, I now use it exclusively for shellac, since that is so hard to clean out well, and new shellac dissolves any old residue, and since I use shellac as a sealer, I don't need perfect atomization. BUT the bottom line, it was NOT a bargain at $25
 
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Charlie and Dan it is a new never used G5500 Mini Touch-Up HVLP Spray Gun with 1.2mm Fluid Tip and Regulator with a 150 cc cup. It sprays from 4.3" to 5.8". It has a Stainless Steel needle, tip and cap. It was made for TCP Global from what I can see. He said he paid $60 for it but looks like they have it for $37. I can also get a DeVILBISS StartingLine HVLP SPRAY PAINT GUN 1.3mm with 20 oz cup for Auto Basecoat Clearcoat Topcoat which I can get it for $35. I also see TCP Global has them for $80. So will do some more research and see what comes up. I don't want to spend a ton of money for spraying a few turnings. I haven't tried the Paasche Talon with the .66mm needle and fan cap yet. Maybe that will do the job.
 
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Had time the past couple days and completed a few vessels. A couple were done with NC Lacquer and the others with EM6000
My Camera is not the newest so the pics sometimes are of less quality then I would like but here is what I have to show about the Lacquer

Picture 1 - 16" tall Red Vessel - 8 coats of EM6000 - dry 1 week - 0000 steel with wax finish

Picture 2 - 16" tall - 3 coats of DO mixture - dry 2 weeks - thin coat of NC Lacquer and light scuff with 0000 - then EEE buff - Briwax applied by hand and buffed
by hand

Picture 3 - 20" tall - 8 coats of NC Lacquer - dry 2 weeks - sanded to 1500 - 2 coats of paste wax and buffed by hand

Picture 4 - 16" tall - 5 coats of EM6000 - sanded to 1500 - 2 coats of paste wax and buffed by hand

Picture 5 - 2' 6" tall vessel - 10 coats of NC lacquer - sanded to 1500 - rubbing compound 3M and then swirl mark remover 3M

I spoke with Charlie the other day about the EM6000 and a few new ideas im going to try - one of which is the dry sanding of the finish as he suggested in a previous thread. I am out of NC Lacquer now anyway and im after a few projects im getting used to the waterbourne and im liking it alot or at least the EM6000.
The Red Vessel in the picture I am still working on the final finish and will post when I can - It has dried now for over a week and I sprinkled a few drops of water on it last night and started sanding with 400 and it looked like it was peeling the finish so I stopped. Maybe it was not totally cured - im not sure but on next day off ill try just dry sanding it and rubbing it out like Charlie mentioned and see how it goes on that one......Ill post the pictures as soon as I complete it
 

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