HYDROCOTE RESISTHANE PLUS USERS?

danmart77

Dan
Corporate Member
Wondering this finish works? I am leaning more towards non solvent finishes and this one has come up several times as a bargain high performer.

I have not used it at this time so inputs from others are welcome. Please focus on the HYDROCOTE RESISTHANE PLUS in your replies. I will report back once I can find some here in Durham. That seems to be the only hold up on this product.

Thanks
 

danmart77

Dan
Corporate Member
184849

Need to seal chairs and I'm tired of blushing while spraying all summer long. Don't have a booth so I finish outside when the humidity is down.
 

golfdad

Co-director of Outreach
Dirk
Corporate Member
Dan that is order only. Klingspors has it from Mohawk in stock
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
Dan that is order only. Klingspors has it from Mohawk in stock

That's interesting. Resisthane Hydrocote Ultra is a water-borne lacquer and I thought that it was proprietary to Hood Finishing so how does Mohawk sell the same product?
 

Dee2

Board of Directors, Vice President
Gene
Staff member
Corporate Member
There is a place in Greenville that has water-based lacquer. I don't remember the brand. Stuart Kent would know.
 

Henry W

Henry
Corporate Member
(EDIT - Sorry, I forgot the original request to focus on the Hydrocote Resisthane product.)

Original response - Target Coatings also sells a waterborne lacquer (online)- in addition to many other waterborne products. There is always some sort of discount on parts of their product line. Sign up for e-mails to see what the current discount is.
As a novice spray finisher I have had very good results with the Target lacquer, both black and clear.
 

red

Papa Red
Red
Senior User
I've used it many time years ago. I would order it online from Hood Finishing in NJ? I have not used it or them in years. I need to go back to using water based and I always had good luck spraying Resisthane. It was easy to spray and was a durable finish. I liked it.

Red
 

golfdad

Co-director of Outreach
Dirk
Corporate Member
That's interesting. Resisthane Hydrocote Ultra is a water-borne lacquer and I thought that it was proprietary to Hood Finishing so how does Mohawk sell the same product?
Mohawk has had Waterborne Laquer for several years
 

JimD

Jim
Senior User
Over the period of several years, I have used several gallons of Resisthane (I may have used 10, something approaching that). I have used both the clear and the white tinted and I have also used their companion white tinted primer. I used it most recently for a white painted cabinet in my bathroom which I made last year. I have not used a lot of water based finishes but I have used others and it is my favorite. I like the fact that you do not have to sand between coats, it dries very quickly, it is relatively inexpensive, and it is rated as durable enough for kitchen cabinets. It also sands MUCH better than oil based polyurethane. I order it from Hood finishing and was pretty disappointed in the way the last gallon arrived. The packaging was not the greatest and the shipper was not kind to the box. If I had not had an empty to pour the finish into I would have lost most of the gallon. I may look into what I can buy locally before I order this again. But the finish itself is good. No complaints. Hood is also fine to deal with. If I had lost the gallon, they would probably have done something for me. I used to spray Resisthane with a Wagner conversion gun but my mini-mite 3 does a much better job. I do not need to thin it at all (or the primer) I just dump into the gun and start to spray. I have a spare cup with water in it and I spray water out of the gun when I am done then hang it up to wait for the next coat. I can pretty easily put 3 coats on in a day, even with some sanding between coats.
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
Mohawk has had Waterborne Laquer for several years

Lots of places have had waterborne lacquers for years. Resisthane Hydrocote is a trademarked product from Hood Finishing and that's their brand of waterborne lacquer. Maybe not anything special but the OP asked about Resisthane Hydrocote specifically, not waterborne lacquer in general.
 

danmart77

Dan
Corporate Member
Dirk mentioned Mohawk as an alternative and it can be picked up in Cary. This has my attention but one question lingers: Is the lacquer CLEAR? I have found several clear spray/brush lacquers but they all go on like skim milk then the surprise results follow. I wondered about Resisthane for the clarity.
 

Henry W

Henry
Corporate Member
Dan
A bit of Chemistry will explain why waterborne finishes are 'milky' in the can but dry clear. I don't think you will find a waterborne urethane that does not have this characteristic. Here's my brief explanation - talk to a real chemist (Jeff?) for further clarity.

Waterborne finishes are like latex paint without the pigments. They are mixtures, not solutions.

The system has water as it's main component - the solvent. It's clear and colorless.
Small particles of resin (the final finish) - be they lacquer or urethane or some other chemistry - are mixed into and suspended in that clear solvent. These in and of themselves may also be clear and colorless, but suspended as small droplets/particles in water they make the mixture look white. While I know even less about the chemistry of milk, that is the case for milk as well.
When the (waterborne finish) mixture is applied to the surface, it remains white until the water evaporates and the droplets/particles coalesce/combine into a film (all the droplets touching instead of having water in between them). Only then will the resulting film finally become clear (and colorless?). Curing of the film is a whole new explanation

So the white in the can property is fundamental to waterborne finishes.

In contrast I believe most solvent based (that is not water based) systems have the resin dissolved into the solvent. This is a solution (miscible) - the resin is actually dissolved and the entire solution is one phase, not a mixture of solvent and droplets/particles. So in the can these will appear as a clear (colorless?) product.

That's the basics - if I have a few details that need correction or elaboration, I can only say I have not had my coffee yet.
 

danmart77

Dan
Corporate Member
HenryW
Thanks for the break down. I get it. I'll continue to do a little research and then try a couple new finishes made by a couple of different companies. I'll post when I have some test results.
 

JimD

Jim
Senior User
Resisthane is completely clear when it dries. I don't like it on oak for that reason. I prefer the amber tint that oil based poly provides. But on cherry or walnut, totally clear is very nice.

This is minor but I don't think the water in water based finishes is actually a solvent. I think it is a carrier. It prevents hardening by separating the plastic molecules. But it has been awhile since I researched that. What I am sure of is that Resisthane is clear - unless pigment is deliberately mixed in. There is an interesting article, for instance, on Highland Hardwares website about mixing it with latex paint. And Hood sells it white and possibly black tinted. But if you buy the clear, it dries clear.
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
The lacquer "resins" are insoluble in water but they're readily dissolved in glycol ethers to make a clear, transparent solution. That solution is then diluted with water to give a "milky" looking suspension in the can (stir well before use). That's what is brushed on the wood and as it dries the appearance is clear and colorless.
 

Henry W

Henry
Corporate Member
The lacquer "resins" are insoluble in water but they're readily dissolved in glycol ethers to make a clear, transparent solution. That solution is then diluted with water to give a "milky" looking suspension in the can (stir well before use). That's what is brushed on the wood and as it dries the appearance is clear and colorless.
Thanks Jeff, I knew a real chemist would chime in.
 

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