Water Based Finishes

Rating:
Summary: A good introduction to water-based finishes
Review: The author provides a good overview of how water-based finishes work, their pros and cons, and how they compare to traditional solvent-based finishes.

Also included is a section on staining within the system.

I am not aware of anyone else that covers water-based finishes in this amount of detail. If you're just getting started in finshing, or planning to switch to w/b systems, this book is required reading.

This work is copyright in 1998. Due to the progress in technology, it's probably due for a revision, especially if brand names are going to be used.

I do have a couple of complaints:
1. All the photos are black and white, this makes it hard to see the point the author is making. I am disappointed in Taunton Press for this; it's not their usual high quality. There are several sections that really need high-quality color photos to illustrate properly.

2. The author on several occasions says he's settled on specific brands, but then neglects to mention what they are. In fact, other than products in photos, there is not much specific mention of brand names and properties of each. I always liked Michael Dresdner's chart showing what each product name was in terms of type of finish or stain. It'd be nice to know that Product X is an acrylic and Product Y a urethane, for example.

3. I am surprised to see that the author does not use non-woven abrasive pads for between-coats sanding. 3M 216U abrasives also work extremely well on sanding, but the author recommends SiC.

( I use water-based finishes extensively in my business )

Rating:
Summary: The ultimate word on Water Based Finishes
Review: The ultimate word on Water Based Finishes
Water Based Finishes by Andy Charron is not only the best book on Water Based Finishes I have Ever (EVER) read, I truly feel if you want to learn A LOT about Water Based Finishes to help you make more money or just simply become knowledgeable, this book by Andy Charron is a big mistake not to buy.
And keep it in the shop; it's that useful.
Scott
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