Today we will show you how to hand apply our water-based topcoats for indoor
projects. They are low odor, spray beautifully and clean up with water.
In this demo we will be applying Flat Out Flat to a bench, painted in our new Midnight
Blue Chalk Style Paint. Flat Out Flat was developed as a matte topcoat with a
velvety feel that mimics the look and feel of wax. As you can see all
water-based topcoats are milky white in the can, but they dry clear.
Mix the contents thoroughly and continue to stir throughout your project. Never shake water-based topcoats.
Shaking creates bubbles that will mar the finish.
Flat Out Flat contains more matting agents than our High Performance.
These slightly reduce transparency so be sure to test the look to your satisfaction,
especially over dark colors. Temperature and humidity impact the flow and dry
time of your finish. To increase open time add 10 to 15% Extender.
First gather your favorite application tools; foam brushes and a pad applicator covered with a nylon footy.
We use the footy because it contains loose fibers in the
pad and reduces bubbles during the application, Tom? First condition your
applicator by dampening it in water and Extender. This helps prevent the
brush from absorbing too much material to begin with. So I like to keep them
soaked in a damp rag and now I'm ready to apply my topcoat.
I'm gonna start on the bottom side of the bench here. The bench has been painted
and the paint is completely dry. I always start from the bottom.
Now, not everybody sees this but this is important to seal the bottom side of it.
I'm gonna work right out of the can here. With my foam brush and I'm just going to cut
in my corners. Nice, long, uniform, even strokes. Now the first coat is going
to go down a little bit rougher so I can come back and always detail in any
corners if I need to. Use plenty of material, don't dry brush the product.
Put the product on liberally so you get a good, even wet film.
I'm using a three inch foam brush. My rule is the larger the surface
I'm finishing, the larger the applicator I want to use. Now I will come back
and I will feather this out with a second brush. I always use more than one
brush when I'm finishing a project. You can see a little bit of bubbles and a little bit of foam.
Just come back and feather that right out.
Those bubbles will dissipate as the product dries down.
If you miss something don't worry about it we're gonna come back with a second application anyways.
A little table like this, a little bench like this is going to take about ten to
fifteen minutes and take your time there's no hurry here. We want to get
this done correctly. I'm gonna set it up. It's good to work in good light too. It is important to have proper lighting.
So you can get the right angle and you can see your material go down. Watch how that flows.
Be careful not to overwork the material, don't back brush it too much. Just flow it on and let the product level.
That will put fewer brush strokes in your finish.
Nice and uniform. You should be able to see a nice even sheen across the surface.
Any dry spots will stand out and you will know if you missed a spot.
It is good to have lighting angled behind you. So you can get a good view of your surface when
you're working at it. Now this is a pine bench, it is going to be dry. So it is going to pull that
finish down into the wood. So our first coat, I am not going to be too concerned about.
If I miss an area, I can come back and scuff sand it and apply a second coat.
This will dry down, it is going to start to dry in about five to ten minutes depending upon
temperature and humidity. What is nice about this, is it will dry quickly.
That is just our first coat. Now we are going to change out our benches.
The first layer of topcoat on this has dried. Now Tom will show you how to
finish sand and how much easier that second coat goes down. This bench was
painted. It has one coat of High Performance on it. I am using a 220
sanding pad. I always just make sure I rough it up a little bit so it's not too coarse.
You can hear and see that first coat of finish. The paint has been sealed off now.
What you are looking for is just a light powder. That tells me that my finish is
completely dry. You can run your hand across it and it is silky smooth. That's what's
really nice about that product.Wipe it off with my tack cloth here so it's clean. I don't want
any dirt or debris left on my surface there. Take my brush and apply my
second coat of finish. This will dry to a real low
luster. Very soft, velvety sheen. Using the same brush, if it gets to be a while before
you get to your second coat. Just put your brush in a cup of water or bowl of
water and just let it sit there. Wring it out on a paper towel and you're ready to go.
See how uniform and even that next coat of finish went down.
Most projects need two to three coats of finish.
If the project will be in a high-use area then a
couple extra coats of finish will just protect your work. Back with your second
brush if you need to and just touch up the areas. We are going to put another coat on
this when this is dry. For large projects we use a sprayer with a medium-sized
fluid tip. See our spraying video at the end of this segment for details.
Whatever your application method is we recommend three to four layers of topcoat.
Let each coat dry 2 to 4 hours and sand between with a 220 sanding pad.
This is how the bench looks finished with three coats of Flat Out Flat.
Erin's tips: High Performance and Flat Out Flat are for indoor projects only.
Never use long oil such as Linseed, Danish or Tung oil with water-based products.
Dry time to re-coat: 2 to 4 hours.
Wait 72 hours before applying water based topcoats over oil finishes.
Our finishes are engineered to be compatible with each other.
Test to your satisfaction when using with other brands.
GF also has a full line of professional finishes formulated for spray applications.
For design ideas visit our Design Center at: designs.generalfinishes.com
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topcoats. If you've enjoyed it, please like, share and subscribe to our channel.