spray EM6000 in hot/humid condition?

[Brian Evans]

I would like to spray some water based EM6000, but it's quite humid around here right now, and looks to be persisting for a while (like till Christmas... ) I know that spraying Nitrocellulose type lacquer is risky, you get bloom, but has anyone tried the water based stuff in hot/humid conditions? I read only one article that mentioned, kind of "oh by the way" that one reason furniture makers switched to it was they could spray anytime, regardless of weather.

[Bob Gramann]

I use EM6000 (and have since it was called PSL). My shop is kept at 40-42% humidity year round. I don’t like to set up the spray booth (which exhausts to the outside), so I spray outside whenever possible ( not raining and above 50 F outside) and immediately bring the guitar parts back into the humidity controlled room. This process has never caused me any trouble. If I didn’t have the lower humidity for drying, I would have to increase the time between coats and maybe decrease the number of coats per day. With my current setup, I can respray every 20-30 minutes and do 4 to 5 coats a day. Too many coats too fast causes a blue cast to the finish which will take a while to clear. Once you see the blue when the surface is dry to the touch, you know it’s time to quit for however many days it takes the blue to clear. In other words, a high humidity drying space should increase your time between coats, but otherwise you should be all right.

[Brian Evans]

Thanks! I may get a "window" of dry tomorrow, and I do have a place to let it set after it flashes off (no longer wet) which doesn't take long. It's just to put a protective coat on the twisted neck I have, which I have managed to untwist. Maybe. Time will tell, but I am increasing my odds of sucess by starting to build two replacement necks. Voodoo/mojo means the first neck will notice and stay good to spite me... I guess I think my guitars are alive, I certainly talk to them...

[Marshall Dixon]

[="Brian Evans" post_id=61303 time=1596027938 user_id=4226]

... has anyone tried the water based stuff in hot/humid conditions?...

[/quote]

I've been spraying EM6000 for years. I use it with their cross linker CL100 which makes it harder and acid/alcohol resistant so it's better for bar tops and such. I use shellac to pop the grain.

I live in southern Oregon. Not particularly hot or humid, but too hot to use dehumidifier in summer as it heats up the shop, so I don't build during the hot months, generally from July through August. But I do finish work and haven't had a problem.

I don't spray out in the open because of all the crap that falls from the trees and ends up in the finish. I stand in the doorway and spray to the outside. I spray 3 coats per day, waiting at least an hour between coats. The next day level with 600 grit wet/dry paper using water with a small amount of dishwashing detergent and wiped with plain water after leveling.

I recall they recommend 5 days curing time, but I usually wait longer, 10 days at least.

I don't thing high humidity will be a problem as it is compatible with the finish, unlike nitro.

Here is a link to a good discussion about the subject:

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/using- ... b.1116168/