Sanding between coats of Enduro Var

[Mike Gottlieb]

I am about to spray a cherry chest with Enduro Var. This will be my first time with this finish. What do you recommend for sanding between coats?

[Wayne Lomman]

Always do a light sand between coats regardless of what product you are using. 320 grit is a good place to start. Cheers

[Julie Moriarty]

I sprayed about three gallons of EnduroVar on a kitchen remodel. I sanded after the first coat to knock down the raised grain before spraying the second coat. EnduroVar is a waterborne product so grain raising is inevitable. For the third coat I sprayed without sanding. We sold that house around two years after finishing the kitchen remodel. I saw no problems with the EnduroVar finish.

[Bill Adamsen]

Yes, just the final coat. Though sanding after initial coats is unlikely to cause harm.

Endurovar sprays very easily. I prep sand to 220/240 for Endurovar. In fact, I think the instructions warn of color absorption issues from oversanding. I knock down the surface before the last coat with 320. They recommend using a block sander but I use the FT ETS/EC 150 at a medium speed and that works fine.

Endurovar is extremely forgiving ... but like most finishes, it makes sense to follow the manufacturer instructions. I find their expected dry times are conservative ... I typically get three coats on in one day or less. There have been a number of threads in this forum in the past questioning the Mfg's "use no stain unless waterborne" ... specifically whether it is safe to use wax-free shellac. The verdict if I remember is "use at your own risk." It is not as sensitive as the GF CV related to thickness, but they do have recommended thickness to follow. Lastly, it takes days to cure hard enough to stack and weeks to cure hard enough not to mark.
https://generalfinishes.com/wood-fin...based-urethane

[Mike Gottlieb]

I should have added that I have already put on the recommended two coats of Charles Neil Blotch Control, so the grain has already been raised and knocked down.

[Julie Moriarty]

I should have added that I have already put on the recommended two coats of Charles Neil Blotch Control, so the grain has already been raised and knocked down.

From General Finishes: Enduro-Var water-based topcoat adheres well ONLY over WATER STAINS, DYE STAINS and RAW WOOD. Use Enduro-Var over any other surfaces at your own risk.

[John TenEyck]

I don't understand why you used CN's blotch control if you didn't use a dye or stain, or did you? I've never had any bonding problems with EnduroVar, but I've never used it over CN's Blotch controller either, so I would do a test on scrap to see how well it bonds. I often use Sealcoat shellac under EnduroVar, and recommend you consider that over the CN Blotch controller if you find a bond problem.

Like Wayne, I always sand between coats. I favor 400 or 600 grit on a hand block when spraying EnduroVar.

John

FYI, GF used to say it was OK to apply EnduroVar over dewaxed shellac, now they list shellac as incompatible but don't specify what type of shellac. Like I said, I've never had any problems putting it over Sealcoat shellac and have used many gallons of it that way.

Julie left out some additional details from GF:

General Finishes Enduro-Var

is an oil-modified water-based topcoat and ONLY ADHERES WELL OVER WATER-BASED STAINS, DYES AND RAW WOOD. It will adhere over an oil-based stain ONLY IF the stain is completely dry (minimum 4 days dry time). Use Enduro-Var over any other surfaces at your own risk.

So you see they say it can be used over OB stain, which suggests to me that it can bond to a rather wide range of materials. And FWIW, GF now says EnduroVar is an oil modified WB topcoat, though no oil is listed in the SDS or the old MSDS. Confused?

Despite all of this EnduroVar is a great product.

John

[Julie Moriarty]

John, I think the criteria here is what is laid down prior to using Enduro-Var. If Charles Neil Blotch Control has basically the same properties as an oil based stain then, as GF states, the "ONLY IF the stain is completely dry" would apply. But if the CNBC has properties similar to a seal coat, well, I would not apply EV over it.

What I'm focused on is the fact Mike said the issue of grain raising isn't present because he applied the CNBC. To me that says the wood has been sealed. It is my understanding that if there is any kind of sealant on the wood, EV may not properly adhere. Maybe that's why GF puts their warning in caps.

I've used EV over WB dyes successfully but that warning has kept me from challenging it.

[Mike Gottlieb]

Neil's blotch control is a water-based product. I checked with Charles Neil before application. He confirmed that it is fine to use under Enduro-Var and other water-based products i.e. High Performance by GF. I was just concerned about sanding between coats. I thank both Wayne and John for providing the answer.