Target Coatings
The products I use regularly

For the last many years I have had great results with Target Coatings water based finishes. Not just any water base finish - this is a new technology in furniture and cabinet finishing, so the brand still matters, and Target Coatings have been far better than the alternatives I have tried from General, Fuhr, Sherwin Williams, Minwax, and others. This is the list of finishing products I regularly use, mostly from Target, and why I choose each of them.

Sealers

There are several reasons for using a sanding sealer: provide a smooth surface on which to build the next layers of finish (and most sanding sealers are softer, fill pores more easily, and sand easier to get that level stating layer). Second, some sealers bring out the natural color of the wood. And a third, almost different reason, is to seal the underlying material from those that follow - especially when refinishing over a mystery finish.

Target EM1000 is a clear sealer that does an excellent job of filling the pores, and brings out the natural color of the wood. I sometimes thin it slightly with water, to be sure it penetrates the wood pores.

Zinser Seal Coat is a 2 pound cut of dewaxed blonde shellac, alcohol based. When thinned to a 1 pound cut (add equal parts of denatured alcohol), it is an excellent sealer. It does not sand as easily as EM1000. It is very hard to clean out of a spray gun (I now have a cheap gun dedicated to shellac). But it provides an excellent barrier between dissimilar finishes - it sticks to almost anything, and practically anything sticks to it. It does a good job of bringing out the natural color of the wood.

Target EM6000 can be used as a sealer, especially slightly thinned with water, but it does not "pop" the natural wood color as well as the others.

Lacquer

Target EM6000 is the only water based lacquer that I have found that has full burn-in - where later coats merge with previous coats. It even burns in "to a degree" over classic solvent based nitrocellulose lacquer. There are two reasons burn-in is important. First, you end up with a single coat, so when you sand or rub out the finish, there is no risk of rubbing through an outer layer (which leaves a "witness line" that is virtually impossible to hide). This means that it doesn't matter whether you apply a regular coat or multiple thinner coats... the result is the same (great for a beginner). Second, you don't need to sand between coats to make the finish adhere.

The EM6000 beats the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturer's Association (KCMA) specifications - it is pretty robust, even better than the traditional Catalyzed Lacquer normally used in kitchen cabinets. In fact regular (not catalyzed) lacquer does not meet the KCMA specs. Most factory built furniture and cabinets are finished in catalyzed lacquer.

This is the only finish I buy in 5 gallon quantities. I always use the gloss to build the coats of finish, and often achieve a semi-gloss or satin finish by rubbing rather than spraying a final coat of semi-gloss or satin finish.

Traditional solvent based nitrocellulose lacquer has only one remaining use in my shop. When I do a small turning, I sometimes want to wipe on the finish with a rag, and use the heat of the rag on the spinning piece to dry and polish the finish. The heat of the rag dries the solvent in the NC lacquer. For larger turnings, I spray Target finishes.

Conversion Varnish

Target EM8000cv is an excellent water-based conversion varnish. There is no question that a conversion varnish is more durable than lacquer - more scratch resistant, and more resistant to moisture and chemicals. However, it is not a lacquer. The layers don't burn-in. You have to be good enough with your spray technique that your final coat is fairly heavy and requires minimal rub-out, and that any rub-out does not go through the final coat. It also is a pre-catalyzed finish, so the shelf life is theoretically shorter than a non-catalyzed finish - perhaps as short as a year.

To avoid the need for heavy rubbing, I use a semi-gloss EM8000 more often than I use semi-gloss or satin in the other finishes.

Indoor-Outdoor alkyd Varnish

Target EM2000 is a water based interior-exterior alkyd varnish. It can be sprayed, but has special properties that allow it to be brushed more easily than the other fast-drying Target finishes. It cures more rapidly, so that architectural pieces (such as your front door) can be put into service more quickly. It has the amber color of traditional varnish. In general, exterior varnish has to be more flexible than interior varnish, to tolerate the changes in weather, which generally means it will be softer, so I am not planning on using this on indoor furniture. The exterior pieces I have recently finished with EM2000 have met expectations and are still going strong.

Grain filler

If you want to fill the grain in the wood (more than just the microscopic pores), so the finished surface is "grand piano smooth and shiny" then you need to start with a grain filler. I rarely fill my work, since hiding the grain texture also makes the finish look a little plastic. But when I do, I most often use Behlen water base brown filler, and after applying, sand it back to the wood. If I were using it a lot, and didn't already have a stock of Behlen's, I would certainly try the Target HSF5100 high solids filler.

Color

I have successfully used TransTint dyes in these finishes. Normally I am using them as a toner, to shift the color or darken an area, so I just put a few drops in the spray gun and apply layers as required until I get the desired effect. I do not mix large quantities of each color. Since Target has sometimes sold Mixol colors as well as TransTint, I expect they would work equally well.

Back to the index of woodworking tips
Back to the introduction to finishing
Back to the use of Lacquer as a furniture finish
Back to the page on sheen and rubbing out the finish
On to the details of spraying