WATER BASED WOOD FINISHES FOR ALL YOUR PROFESSIONAL AND DIY WOODWORKING PROJECTS

For more than thirty years I’ve chased the ever-receding horizon of perfection, marrying technology to the warmth of wood so each piece delivers both poetry and everyday utility. That pursuit has taken me through the full catalog of traditional oil varnishes, lacquers, and hybrid potions. Too often they have asked me to compromise: toxic chemicals, harsh solvents, fire-risk rags, fussy pot lives, unpredictable color shift, lingering odors, and sticker shock at the cash register. I wanted the depth and durability oils confer, minus the toxins and drama.

Enter Target Coatings. I first rolled the dice on their Emtech 1000 Universal Sanding Sealer. Laid down through an HVLP gun (DeVilbiss DV1 1.3 tip @ 20-25 PSI) it atomized like a dream, settling into the grain of black walnut and African padauk with a clarity that seemed to switch the “depth” **** to full. Once burnished back with 400-grit, the surface felt glass-flat yet alive with exceptional depth and character.

Top-coating with Emtech 9300 Polycarbonate Urethane Matte sealed the deal, literally and figuratively. A year later my daughter’s art-and-snack table still shrugs off watercolor, glue, and the occasional spaghetti night. There’s zero yellowing, no plastic sheen, and, best of all, cleanup is a quick rinse instead of a hazardous lacquer-thinner bath. The finish simply disappears and lets the wood sing.

When my wife commissioned a six-foot armoire that would dominate our sunroom, I reached for the new EMCAT+ Si427 Sealer & Isolator plus EMCAT+ 2K Conversion Varnish system. It sprayed buttery smooth, leveled out quickly, and stacked for re-coat without any trouble. Padauk’s notoriously fugitive crimson remains vivid and brilliant, not the dull greyish red other finishes encourage, while the film locks down at an exceptionally durable hardness.

Across species such as African padauk, black walnut, and hard maple, the Target Coatings lineup has proven color-true, block-resistant, and blissfully forgiving of shop humidity swings. No blush, no witness lines, and no surprise adhesion failures when I edge-sand through a coat. The math is compelling too: no oily rags spontaneously combusting, easy cleanup with water, and affordability with super fast shipping.

I began this experiment hoping merely to reduce toxins; I ended up upgrading both aesthetic and performance. Target Coatings has earned a permanent shelf in my finish cabinet (literally the entire shelf now), and, judging by my clients’ double-takes, a permanent place in their living rooms as well.

For more than thirty years I’ve chased the ever-receding horizon of perfection, marrying technology to the warmth of wood so each piece delivers both poetry and everyday utility. That pursuit has taken me through the full catalog of traditional oil varnishes, lacquers, and hybrid potions. Too often they have asked me to compromise: toxic chemicals, harsh solvents, fire-risk rags, fussy pot lives, unpredictable color shift, lingering odors, and sticker shock at the cash register. I wanted the depth and durability oils confer, minus the toxins and drama.

Enter Target Coatings. I first rolled the dice on their Emtech 1000 Universal Sanding Sealer. Laid down through an HVLP gun (DeVilbiss DV1 1.3 tip @ 20-25 PSI) it atomized like a dream, settling into the grain of black walnut and African padauk with a clarity that seemed to switch the “depth” **** to full. Once burnished back with 400-grit, the surface felt glass-flat yet alive with exceptional depth and character.

Top-coating with Emtech 9300 Polycarbonate Urethane Matte sealed the deal, literally and figuratively. A year later my daughter’s art-and-snack table still shrugs off watercolor, glue, and the occasional spaghetti night. There’s zero yellowing, no plastic sheen, and, best of all, cleanup is a quick rinse instead of a hazardous lacquer-thinner bath. The finish simply disappears and lets the wood sing.

When my wife commissioned a six-foot armoire that would dominate our sunroom, I reached for the new EMCAT+ Si427 Sealer & Isolator plus EMCAT+ 2K Conversion Varnish system. It sprayed buttery smooth, leveled out quickly, and stacked for re-coat without any trouble. Padauk’s notoriously fugitive crimson remains vivid and brilliant, not the dull greyish red other finishes encourage, while the film locks down at an exceptionally durable hardness.

Across species such as African padauk, black walnut, and hard maple, the Target Coatings lineup has proven color-true, block-resistant, and blissfully forgiving of shop humidity swings. No blush, no witness lines, and no surprise adhesion failures when I edge-sand through a coat. The math is compelling too: no oily rags spontaneously combusting, easy cleanup with water, and affordability with super fast shipping.

I began this experiment hoping merely to reduce toxins; I ended up upgrading both aesthetic and performance. Target Coatings has earned a permanent shelf in my finish cabinet (literally the entire shelf now), and, judging by my clients’ double-takes, a permanent place in their living rooms as well.

In an earlier post I talked about the primer and also pigmented top coat. They both performed very well being my first time spraying any emtech products. I still need more tweaking with those , but my gun loved this clear coat. I sprayed it with a gravity fed C. A.T. Gun with a 1.3 tip. It just flowed out beautifully , very impressed. Scuff pad and ready for next coat. No issues, this will be my go paint. Plus as a bonus you can actually talk to someone if you should have any issues. Can’t say enough.

I chose to use my 1.5 tip and maybe should have used the 1.7. But the vertical hang is excellent. This was my first time using any of emtech’s products and I stayed on the cautious side. Very pleased with the whole process from ordering to custom tint to delivery. Might think about thinning this as well or jump up in tip. Great products overall.

The stuff is incredible. Lays out wonderfully, crystal clear, very forgiving. And I can accomplish all my coats in the span of a day with time to spare.I’ve been making furniture for about 20 years and started building guitars in the last couple years. I have tried many, many finishes. Once I gave this a shot on my last guitar build, I felt like I found the Holy Grail. As an added bonus, there were a couple times I had questions so I messaged target coatings and they gave me very thorough answers very quickly. The lacquer, and the customer service are both exemplary.

Repeating my review here from the shop review, I am in the final stages of a $30K custom kitchen design project and THRILLED with the outcome. Using this pigmented lacquer. Finished these cabinets with HSF 5000 primer/grain filler (2 coats, sanded 220 between) , EM 6500 semi gloss tinted to SW "Green Black" (3 coats, sanded 320 between), topped with EM7000hbl (3-4 coats 500 sanded between). I followed Seth's guidance on tip sizes, spraying in colder conditions, etc., and these came out really exceptional! EMTECH Target Coatings are a dream to work with. I really appreciate Jeff and his guys - they are super responsive and helpful.

I DONT DONT DO CABINETS - unless you are a close friend and are willing to pay custom furniture design prices. I am in the final stages of a $30K custom kitchen design project and THRILLED with the outcome. Finished these cabinets, made in 13-ply birch, with HSF 5000 primer/grain filler (2 coats, sanded 220 between) , EM 6500 semi gloss tinted to SW "Green Black" (3 coats, sanded 320 between), topped with EM7000hbl (3-4 coats 500 sanded between). I don't have a commercial spray booth, but I work very hard to create a "mostly dust free" spraying environment and while not flawless, these cabinets are gorgeous. EMTECH Target Coatings are a dream to work with. Jeff and his guys are super responsive and helpful. Thanks Team!

I have used other water based clear coats, but none come close to performing as highly as EM6000. Just the fact that it will adhere to undercoats without sanding and prevents "reveals" in the layered coats makes it the best for my musical instruments.

I paint with a lot of darker colors and this provides a perfect CLEAR shell that protects beautifully without affecting the color

Easy to apply resulting in a hard and professional appearance

Easy to use, did not change the tint of the wood, dried like a dream.

We had experimented with several finishes--even UV-cure finishes--before landing on Emtech 9300 Urethane, which we used exclusively. It gave us great, reliable results with a durable finish. But since trying the EmCat line of conversion varnish, we've switched. It's ease-of-use, great flow, fast recoat times, and quick cure time--even in our Central Florida humidity--has greatly expedited our work flow. The final finish result is the smooth, high-end furniture text our customers want and the durability is fantastic.

These people are very helpful to work with, prompt shipping and excellent packaging, to say nothing of an excellent product.