Review of Minwax Acrylic finish
Bill Tindall, E.Tn.
I have never had a satisfactory experience with a water based finish. They always look dead to me, or worse bluish, and this experience includes Target polycarbonate and urethane products. Ash is difficult to finish because any yellowing of the finish shows up ugly on the white ash. Only the water based finishes have hope of not yellowing, and in theory, acrylic should be the best.
I tried the Minwax product available at Lowes. I applied the gloss to a test board (never do chemistry experiments on the final furniture). It applied smoothly with a foam brush. There was some grain raising. Applied as a sealer it dried quickly and sanded smoothly without loading the paper. As a sealer I would rank it equivalent to blond shellac and at a lower cost. In the future I will consider it as a sealer instead of shellac.
The appearance of the gloss on the ash was as good as any lacquer, or shellac, I have used. It was to my astonishment bright and lively and brought out the figure in the wood.
On the desk I sprayed on one coat of gloss, sanded with 400 grit and top coated with satin. I was able to spray a thin coat to achieve a "close to the wood" appearance. It sprayed as easily as any finish I have used. I had no atomization problem and it laid down wet and level. It was a humid morning but I had no worries from blushing because the coating was already wet!. Spraying shellac would have been a disaster under these conditions.
I do not know its durability. I will report back in a year.
Summary- may replace shellac in my shop. Good candidate for light colored woods like maple and ash.
