# Acrylic latex / Polycrylic Mix ?



## bilyo (May 20, 2015)

I was doing some reading on the interweb recently and came across a comment where someone made a 50-50 mix of acrylic latex paint and Minwax Polycrylic plus some Floetrol for spraying. I can't quote what he/she said but, I believe, the main object was to make acrylic latex more sprayable and, secondarily, make it more durable and smoother. Has anyone else done this? I'm generally skeptical about doing my own chemistry.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

Sounds like a fun experiment. Worth trying on a small scale, if only for the durability thing.

I used to buy my epoxy resin in two five gallon buckets (part A and part B). It was about fifteen years in before I ever saw all the directions. They even went beyond what you see included in the retail packages. After reading them, I learned I couldn't do what I'd been doing for about a decade.

I, sincerely, am glad I didn't read and rely on those directions, or I wouldn't have attempted applying the epoxy to vertical surfaces, like automobile consoles.

It may, or may not be the same here, but until you try a test run on a [smaller] batch, you won't know how it did. It might. After all, many of us play with oil base finishes by adding more resin or oil to alter the end characteristics (e.g., make a short oil finish into a long oil finish for more flexibility in the final finish, to help address the issue expansion and contraction of the wood).


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## bilyo (May 20, 2015)

Yes. I intend to try it. I just haven't had an opportunity to do so yet. I wonder if there will be any advantages over using thinner water based paint intended for spraying cabinets that I have read about. Or, any advantages over using tinted lacquers.


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## bilyo (May 20, 2015)

Ok. I tried it. I had a small piece of hardboard (like Masonite) that had been painted with some black paint (probably latex) and I thought that this might be a good test of coverage. I mixed a small quanitity of white acrylic latex with an equal amount of Minwax Polycrylic. The result was a pretty thin product that could probably be sprayed with a 1.5 or 1.8 mm tip (just a guess). I put a small swatch on the black board with a cheap brush. It covered quite well for one coat. It leveled quickly and dried quickly with no brush marks. I then thinned the material about 20-25% so that I could spray it with an air brush. I sprayed on 2-3 coats allowing a couple of hours between coats and with a very light sanding in between. Again, it covered well, dried quickly and leveled nicely. After 24 hours, with some effort, I could force some off with my fingernail but, I think, that was due to the softness of the black paint. Just my impression. Of course, I can't speak to the long term durability but, my initial impression is good. The fact that it was easy to sand after a couple of hours was a positive to me.


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## Axis39 (Jul 3, 2019)

i've done it before and had no problems. I've actually done it a couple times.

Last one I did was a few cabinets I built (on a tight budget) and installed in a customer's bathroom.

My Son-In-Law did it last year for the cabinets in his house. With three (active!) young kids running around, they've held up really well. Much better than just regular latex paint would have done!

As for directions, I've found most commercial product literature is written for the lowest common denominator, and least amount of complaints to customer service.


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

> I m generally skeptical about doing my own chemistry.


I'm with ya on that. So many other ways to get there. Thinking someone wants to get a lot done, in one shot. I've grown to become leery of doing that too.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

I, on the other hand, love it and the results.

When I take the experts advice (e.g, put a hardening finish on a fence, like those Behr offers), I regret it to the extreme. If neglected, it has to be removed before the next round of protection is applied.

For years, I've added thinner to poly to get penetration, added hardening oil to get flex, played with combos of resins and so on.

Many of the finishes we enjoy today are thanks to other than the big labs tinkering. After all, things like mixes of linseed oil, pine tar and thinner don't form pesky surface coats that have to be removed, but were still good enough to protect rifles used in the world war.

We have become so accustomed to what advertising tells us we forget things like chalk paint, in it's original form or tampered with, still have value, and you don't have to pay thirty dollars a pint to get there.

I bought a few pounds of calcium carbonate a while back. Mixed with your chosen color of latex paint you get the equivalent of that thirty dollar pint they sell downtown.

I buy pine tar by the quart at the horsey store, mix it with linseed oil and turpentine and end up with a finish you cannot get elsewhere.

I make my own polish compounds too. I use to much of it to spend the money McGuires wants to satiate my polishing addition.


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