I have 2 different countertop-related jobs coming up - 1 is building a few counter/bar tops and finishing them. The other is refinishing a stained maple island countertop that was built less than 3 yrs ago (by someone else) and the finish is already starting to chip, crack and fail so I’m thinking it needs to be taken back down to raw wood and refinished.
Along with boats, exterior doors and maybe family dining table tops, wooden countertops see similar levels abuse and need a pretty bombproof finish. I’m looking for some different than Waterlox, which I’ve used multiple times in the past and like, but it just takes such an incredibly long time to dry and cure. 24 hrs between coats and pretty much shutting down the shop for a week due to keeping the dust disturbance to a minimum is highly disruptive to my other work that will need to be happening simultaneously.
Ideally I would use something that I can spray with my 4 stage Fuji HVLP and that dries a bit faster than Waterlox. I have used plenty of waterborne lacquers from the likes of Target Coatings, Sherwin Williams Kem Aqua +, as well as a really nice exterior rated waterborne poly from Milesi on an door a built a year or so back. I don’t know if I can personally trust a waterborne finish in these applications, but would love for someone to tell me otherwise if they have good experiences with a clear waterborne that performs well in high use / wear areas.
I have heard great things repeatedly about a spar varnish called Total Boat Gleam 2.0, but have not tried it yet. It looks pretty glossy, and I’m looking for more of a satin look, but understand that more gloss tends to mean more protection so that’s a bit of a compromise.
There is no sink in the island countertop that needs refinishing, but there is a cooktop. The client understands that it can’t be cut on top of and hot pots and pans can’t be placed directly on the counter. The photos I’ve seen don’t look that bad, but have a few small spots where the top coat is totally compromised and need attention. There are also small scratches all over the top, I’m assuming from general wear and tear (plates, life, etc.) It also has a wood stain on it, that looks similar to Minwax Early American and will need to be re-applied if I sand back to raw wood and have a clear top coat that is compatible with going over an oil based stain.
Anyone have any thoughts on relatively bombproof clear coats that don’t take a week plus to dry and apply and aren’t high gloss?
Thanks!
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