Enduro Var - orange peel texture?

[alex grams]

I typically use Target coatings 6000 for finishes, but bought some endurovar urethane to test on a few bowls to see how I liked it. My first observation was it was thicker/higher viscosity. I sprayed a few bowls to test, but kept getting an orange peel texture when dry. I went from my 1.0mm needle on my sprayer to a 1.5, but still it seems that in order to not have the orange peel texture I have to put a lot more finish on than I am accustomed to doing with the EM6000.

Am I missing something here? Maybe my expectations of how much I need to apply are skewed by using the thinner EM6000? I do get concerned that in order to spray on enough for it to properly level that I will reach the point of seeing it run and puddle on the curved finishes.

Any input would be appreciated. I don't know if I am doing something wrong or maybe I've done so much EM6000 that my perspective is just too narrow.

[Art Mann]

You didn't mention anything about thinning but that is likely the solution to your problem. You need to adjust the viscosity to something that will spray correctly.

[Matt Meiser]

Endurovar is definitely thicker. I've never thinned it and haven't seen any significant orange peel issues spraying panels. I'm wondering though if its really the appropriate product for smaller projects where fast build is a detriment? I got good support from GF (even though I wasn't thinking and called the week of IWF!) so it might be worth a call to them to see if they'd recommend a different product.

[Jamie Buxton]

I used to spray EM6000 and its ancestors. Then I switched to General Finishes Enduro Clear Poly. As far as I can tell, it is Enduro-Var without the pigment. When I made the switch, I didn't do anything different with my gun or turbine. I wasn't having orange peel with the EM6000, and I don't see it with the Clear Poly. I spray with a 3-stage Accuspray turbine, and either an Accuspray gun or a Fuji gun. I don't thin either finish.

Well, I don't see orange peel unless the gun gets too far from the workpiece. I'm usually 8" or so from the workpiece. If I get out to 15", bad things happen.

[John TenEyck]

Enduro Clear Poly and EnduroVar are two different products. I've had the orange peel problem with EnduroVar, too, but never with the Clear Poly, even though both have about the same viscosity. I use a 1.8 mm tip HVLP gun for both, but have sprayed the EnduroVar with a 1.4 mm gun, too; it's just that the application rate is much slower. You definitely have to apply a fairly heavy coat with the EnduroVar for it to flow well. I also have to spray at higher pressure (35 psi at the gun) than the other finishes I spray in order to get good atomization. Even then it starts out looking like orange peel to some extent, but it gradually disappears over a period of many hours and after 24 hour it should look almost perfect. I said almost because I have never gotten it to look quite as perfect as GF's High Perf. Poly or Clear Poly. The HP Poly is the easiest stuff for me to spray, followed by the Clear Poly, with EnduroVar being the hardest. If I had to pick one, go to finish, it would be the Clear Poly because it's easy to spray, stays clear, and is very durable. But for ornamental objects that don't need high chemical durability, I'd use the High Perf. Poly. (which is mostly acrylic). I thin it 10% and spray it with the 1.8 mm gun at about 28 psi and it lays down a beautiful film that dries clear and hard.

John

[alex grams]

thanks for the info. It is endurovar. I thinned it about 20% last night, and it is a fine line between thinning enough for a smooth finish and having it run. Bowls aren't the easiest to spray to get that boundary between leveling and not running, but a little better performance.

I ordered a pint of the GF's High Perf. Poly to test out, will see how that goes.

[John TenEyck]

Good deal Alex. As I said, I thin the HP Poly 10% with tap water for a 1.8 mm gun; it will probably require more for your 1.5 mm set up but check what viscosity you need to be sure. You don't need to spray as heavy a coat as with the EnduroVar because it levels very well. Just spray a light but complete coat and I think you'll be pleased.

John

[James Hansen]

I got very interested in this because I am about to spray Enduro-Var on my maple cabinets.

I did a test run with my Apollo 1050VR and the 7500 gun. With the 1.5 MM and straight Enduro-Var, I did get some orange peel. So then I tried thinning with about 10% water and it laid down real smooth if i did a good wet coat.

Wondering if I should try a 1.8 setup.