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Trends in Finishing
by Ben Carlson, Hirshfield’s Lacquer Specialist
Do yourself a favor. Take a walk through your local box store and look at the cabinet displays. Then go to your local bookstore and glance through the kitchen remodel magazines on the rack. These two explorations should indicate the trend in finishing has moved away from a stain with a clear coat to glazes and spot cracking. This could be glaze over paint or stain or a pigmented spot crack on a painted or stained wood. In this time of a harder new home market many homeowners are remodeling kitchens and baths instead of building.
While these trends may appear difficult and time consuming and sold as such by the box stores, in reality they are quite easy to accomplish and can add more to the bottom line. A shop willing to glaze and crackle a set of cabinets is in a better position to retain that customer and get the job.
To assist in these processes M.L. Campbell has developed two new glazes and a spot crackle product. All three of these products can be used with the Magnamax product lines.
The first is No Vinyl Glaze. This is a wiping glaze that has been developed to dry relatively quickly, have good adhesion and is generally used on items where a deep look is desired.
The second is Amazing Glaze III. Similar to use to Amazing Glaze, Amazing Glaze III was developed specifically for use over Magnamax. It dries in about 10 minutes and is great for a production application.
The third product is Crack-L-ite. This is a spot crackle that is applied wet on wet. Upon drying, the coating will crack. Typically, Crack-L-ite is used in conjunction with glaze to create a unique look for the customer.
What follows is a step by step process for a typical glaze and pigmented spot crack.
 Pigmented door with No Vinyl Glaze White with Van Dyke Brown Glaze
Step 1. Prep sand. You should always sand the substrate with the appropriate grit of sand paper prior to the application of stain or pigmented material. Prep sanding is very important on pigmented material because any imperfections in the wood will show up in the final coat.
Step 2. Apply first coat of primer. For this example, we used Magnaclaw for the base. This is a nice white pre-catalyzed primer. You can use Clawlock or W.V.P. (although remember that it is not necessary to use a vinyl). Allow this coat to dry.
Step 3. Scuff sand the first coat of primer with 220 to 320 grit sandpaper. It is imperative the all catalyzed coating be sand in between coats. This promotes mechanical adhesion.
 Step 4. Apply second coat of primer. Allow to dry for at least one hour. Then scuff sand lightly, you will be glazing this so you do not want to create too deep of scratch lines.
Step 5. Apply No Vinyl Glaze. This can be sprayed or wiped on and then wiped off. When working with No Vinyl Glaze, allow it to sit on the wood for about 5 to 10 minutes so that it can bite into the base coat. This will help achieve the look that most customers want to see. Allow this glaze to dry for at least one hour.
Step 6. Apply the first clear coat. You can use any M.L. Campbell clear coat you wish; however, on a white base coat it may be best to use a non-yellowing product like Krystal. Allow this to dry.
Step 7. Scuff sand the first coat and apply your second coat of clear. You have now glazed a painted cabinet set. Stain with Amazing Glaze III.
 Knotty Alder with Vandyke Brown glaze
Step 1. Prep sand. You should always sand the substrate with the appropriate grit of sand paper prior to the application of stain or pigmented material.
Step 2. Apply stain. Here we used S118 Cherry from M.L. Campbell. It is recommended that you use Woodsong II stains for a few reasons: (1) They are fast drying, B10 will dry in about 30 minutes and B20 will dry in about one hour. (2) We know there are no compatibility issues between M.L. Campbell stains and M.L. Campbell lacquers. The same cannot be said about other brands of stain.
Step 3. Apply one coat of Magnamax lacquer. This glaze will work over Magnasand but not as well as it does over Magnamax; therefore it is recommended that you use Magnamax as your base coat. Allow this to dry for at least one hour. This dry time is very important, should it be rushed the glaze will bite into the base coat and will not come off of it.
Step 4. Lightly scuff sand with 220 or 320 grit sandpaper. Apply Amazing Glaze III via a spray gun. Allow this to dry for about 10 minutes. After this time, you may remove the glaze with a scotch bright pad. Try to use a semi-fine pad as a course pad may leave lines. Further, it is best to remove the glaze in a circular pattern so as not to leave lines. This glaze will leave a fine powder, if you do not want this in your finish; blow it off with an air hose.
Step 5. Once you have achieved your desired look, apply your first M.L. Campbell clear topcoat. Allow to dry.
Step 6. Scuff sand with 220 or 320 grit sandpaper. Apply the second and final M.L. Campbell topcoat.
 Pigmented door with a spot crackle MDF with No Vinyl Glaze tinted to Van Dyke Brown
Step 1. Prep sand with 320 grit paper on the face area and 400-600 grit on the routed area. It is important to sand well, as imperfections will show up when the piece is painted. Some people will apply a light coat of clear sanding sealer and then sand. This will hold some of the wood fibers ridged so that they are cut by the sandpaper rather then just pushed down.
Step 2. Apply one coat of W350 10, Clawlock. This is a post catalyzed white pigmented primer. One can use Magnaclaw if so desired. Allow the primer to dry and scuff sand with 220. Make sure all the bumps and excreta are removed as the next coat will have the crackle applied in it. It may be necessary to apply a second coat of primer to fill the mdf and provide a decent base.
Step 3. Mix a little M300 with the Crack-L-ite. Typically less then 1⁄2 ounce per quart is necessary. This little bit of color will help prevent the crackle from having a hazy look.
Step 4. Apply a second (or third) coat of primer. While it is still wet, apply the Crack-L-ite via spray gun to the areas you wish the cracks to appear. The heavier the Crack-L-ite is applied, the larger the cracks will be. Allow the door to dry for at least one hour.
Usually a glaze is applied over a crackle to achieve an aged, dirty look. Study a cabinet set that is quite old and cracked and one will see that usually it is not as clean as a new cabinet. Furthermore, glaze works to highlight the cracks.
 Step 5. Apply one coat of No Vinyl Glaze to the door. This can be applied via spray gun or brush. It is helpful to allow the glaze to sit for 5-10 minuets; this will help the glaze bite to the base coat.
Step 6. Wipe the glaze off to achieve the desired look. Typically the glaze is left heavy in the edges and corners. Pay attention to the cracks, it is possible to wipe most of the glaze out and defeat the purpose of the glaze. Allow the glaze to dry for at least an hour.
Step 7. Apply the first clear coat. You can use any M.L. Campbell clear coat you wish; however, on a white base coat it may be best to use a non-yellowing product like Krystal. Allow this to dry.
Step 8. Scuff sand and apply a second top coat. You now have a pigmented door with a spot crackle.
You can do the same with a clear coat by using a sealer instead of a pigmented primer.
Once these three basic methods are learned, it is easy to take that knowledge and create very unique pieces and allow you to create a niche for your shop. There are endless possibilities for color coordination and development so that your customers can have pieces unique to them and thus the shop can earn higher profits.
Above: closeup of garage door finished with Euro
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