I have worked a bit with waterbased finishes but have a very big job (a full house trim work) in front of me. I am using General Finishes RTM stains with their pre-cat (WB) Lacquer. The wood is (hard) Maple.
The process I followed is spray the stain, spray 1-2 coats of top coat, then sand the rough surface down very lightly with 400 (or 600) grit and then spray the final top coat.
No matter what, I can't avoid sanding as I think the water raises the grain and causes the roughness.
The problem I have is after a dark stain and the top coat is sprayed if I sand (even very lightly), the sharp corners are easily gone in no time (even one stroke with sand paper) and bare wood is visible, an ugly and hard to finish situation. So I have to be very carefull not to get to the edges while sanding, which, given the size of the task, is very difficult (imagine all the moulding/casing/baseboards and the profiles). I need to figure out an easier way of fixing the roughness.
Should I spray a light coat of stain, then top coat, then sand lightly, then tint the topcoat a bit and get to the desired color I want with the tinted topcoat with the hope that it will cover (at least somewhat) the damaged edges and get a close color (stain) over the entire piece?
What is your solution advice here?
TIA!