Any Experience with M.L. Campbell Finishes?

Since finishing is still my weakest point, I went to a seminar at CabinetWare a couple of weeks ago. The sponsor was M.L. Campbell and they did a great job with lots of hands-on activity for the participants. The products look good and all of the technical information is very clear.

What has been your experience with their products? I'm looking at using the pre-cat lacquers -- clear and pigmented -- along with sealers, glazes, etc.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

My friend Russ has been using the pre-cat and likes it. Nasty fumes, however...one must take really good care when working with these solvent-based products and even more so with pre-cats.

But I'm a water bourne kinda guy...and I'm sticking to it!

Bill, I use ML Campbell products most of the time. Search these forums for Campbell and you'll find many of my posts where I talk about them.

Good stuff. Their Magnalac (precat) is a really painless product.

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Originally Posted by Steve Jenkins

Good stuff. Their Magnalac (precat) is a really painless product.

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Bill, I'll throw in my "Amen" to what is said above. I'm just a hack when it comes to finishing. I discovered the Magnalac product and it's done wonders for my projects. Very easy product to use and the dry time is incredibly short! I spray it with a cheap PC HVLP gun thinned just a bit and it sprays wonderfully.

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Originally Posted by Todd Burch

Bill, I use ML Campbell products most of the time. Search these forums for Campbell and you'll find many of my posts where I talk about them.

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Todd,

Thanks for the suggestion. I found some good info in the previous posts.

Regards,

Steve & Jason,

Thanks for your input. I'm looking at the MagnaMax product. It's essentially the same as MagnaLac, except it has a coconut alkyd for less yellowing. The solids are a little higher also. The project I'm planning to start next incorporates contrasting veneers and I want as little yellowing as I can get.

A couple more questions come to mind now:

Do you use a sealer? If so, which one?

Do you use clear gloss and rub it out to satin or just spray satin? I've been spraying multiple coats of NC clear gloss to maintain clarity and then rubbing to the sheen I want.

Thanks again.

Bill, I always considered my first coat the sealer coat. If I'm not mistaken they do sell a sealer product, but I wouldn't bother, at least from my experience. Steve and Todd are the pros and have a lot more experience than I do. I simply shoot a thin coat and then smooth it out with #0000 steel wool or a wet/dry sandpaper. I've never had any problems.

I have used both their gloss and their satin finishes and prefer the look of the satin myself.

Bill,

I recently switched to ML Campbell products after a brief stop using Fuhr waterbourne finishes.

So far, I've sprayed their vinyl sealer (for isolating glaze), Pigmented Magnamax (white and black), and satin Magnamax.

The Magnamax is a pre-cat, but performs in the post-cat/CV range on many test. The Magnalac in their first generation product that my distributor doesn't recommend for cabinet work. The really like the products, but my distributor make all the difference. Prior to using Fuhr, I was using Sherwin Williams products that were great, but didn't come with the service I get at the ML Cambell distrib. Kind of strange, since ML Campbell is owned by SW.

I've also used ML's woodsong glaze and amazing glaze (I didn't care for the amazing glaze.)

Good luck.