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Does any company make a WB brush-on finish that is better than the crud that was around 20 years ago? I'm know this has probably been beaten to death already here, I just want some product suggestions to try out & see what works for me. Fair? No arguments please. This is a health issue.

-why-

As some of you may recall, last fall I had the pleasure of vacationing at the ICU in an induced coma + then an additional month to learn how to walk again. Early signs garnered from all the imaging pointed to raging alcoholism....like at the "you should be dead" level. I'm not one, and the specialists knew it. Oh, I drink, but not enough for this. My organs were ravaged.When I had the follow-up imagery done in December, the docs were now really puzzled - my organs showed zero signs of damage, like nothing ever happened. (quote: Sir, you are a machine. This is inhuman"). They told me to look for a force multiplier. So I did.

-fast forward-

A senior scientist buddy at the U.S. Army Research Lab figured it out instantly. Booze + very high concentrations of VOCs (my fault - years of bad ventilation...you get used to it) = me. To quote, " Congratulations, you created a binary chemical weapon inside of your body" explained in detail. Unusual, but definitely in this case. Bottom line from the pros, even with the best ventilation,.... no polyurethane etc again, ever.

Sooo, back to water based stuff. Just a few product ideas would be cool & appreciated. Now I have to resume hiding in the basement, curled up in the corner sucking my thumb while wearing a CBRN mask.

Thank you all.
Have a nice day.

That's a fascinating but scary story, Janus. I inhaled a lot of VOC's in my basement shop in my younger days. Fortunately, I seemed to have survived OK at least this far. To get to your question, you might want to try General Finishes EnduroVar and/or High Performance Poly. Both are WB products. EnduroVar has excellent chemical durability, better than some solvent based varnishes I tested, while HP Poly has a very good UV stabilizer package that prevents both the wood and finish from light aging for many years. Both go on beautifully with a brush and both spray well. If you use a brush you wouldn't even need to wear a respirator, although you certainly may if you want to. For spraying, you definitely would want a respirator. I have used gallons of both products over the past 5 or 6 years and have always gotten excellent results. As always, be sure to read the product data sheets before using. You can buy both products at Rocklers, Woodcraft ?, or on-line at Homestead Finishing or Woodworkers Hardware.

John

The only stuff I've used for brush on is Enduro (supposed to be spray on, but plenty of turners use it) and Minwax urethane for floors. Both seem to do a good enough job, though bubbles can still be an issue. Sanding between coats is pretty much a given, at least with my application skills, but the resulting finish can be quite nice.

Which Enduro product, Steve? EnduroVar is brush or spray, while Enduro Clear Poly is spray only.

John

Crystalac makes a good line of WB topcoats as does GF. Some GF are spray only but you can use a HVLP with minimal problems. I wear a mask and goggles when spraying WB or shellac (I usually use ethanol not DNA) as irregardless I don't want the stuff in my lungs or eyes and I ruined a good pair of glasses with WB finish. I wear nitrile exam gloves when brushing as most of the WB finishes and shellac make my hands itch.

BTW you will want to use shellac as a base as WB finishes diminish grain rather than accentuate it in most cases.
There is no way to tell what chemistry a WB finish uses—unless you know a lot more about coating chemistry and have better sources than most of us. Many WB finishes have poly in the name or ad stuff but no significant poly in the finish. (Marketing gimmick.)

Thank you all so far. I'm going to try a few of the above suggestions.

Yes, also shellac to start. Always do on everything anyway. The issue I recall from back in the day was a "milky look" and no way to rub it out. Maybe that has changed.

Scary? You bet. One aside: In the exit briefing from the hospital, including a long laundry list of things to avoid, my doc mentioned offhand at the end, "Oh, and don't go to Brazil". I thought he was joking. This was in October, way before the Zika thing really hit the press. Seems they got the memo early.

Acrylic waterborne finshes tend to be just as good as oil based finishes. Just be sure it's clearly marked as "acrylic". Finishes marked only as "latex" are good only for walls and ceilings and really have no woodworking applications.

I have used Minwax Oil modified waterbased finish. Gives the amber color of an oil or varnish with a water based finish.
Used it on a few small tables as well as the stair treads in my house. Almost a year, and no signs of wear on the stairs yet.

Brushes nicely as long as you prevent drips along the edges or what some call "fat-edge".

Scoony;

Do not mean to high-jack the thread. But was using some Minwax Oil Modified WB finish last night. What type of conditions do you apply this under for fair results? Had some bubbles which is normal, but had to put it on really thick otherwise brush strokes seemed to be very bad. Winter conditions so probably too cold -- 60 degrees and low humidity.

Glad to hear it holds up since I like the look, but being 'waterborne' and 'Minwax' I was hesitant on longevity. Being readily available at a 'fair' price helps.

Jake

I have sprayed/brushed this over oil based stains and minwax antique oil without issues.

For spraying, I stick to many thin coats. For brushing, I keep the coat as thin as possible to prevent drips. You really need to sand after the first coat and possibly after the second. If there are drips, I found that I can shave them off with a single edge razor blade without cutting through the film.