Lacquer and varnish

[Peter907]

I have a small tin of clear matt lacquer and a tin of clear matt varnish, both water based and interior. These were purchased only several weeks ago. Today I had need of a clear finish, and on opening the tins they were both as white as milk even after stirring so I haven't actually applied any yet. I've never used any water based before so I'm wondering if this white colour is this normal. My internet searches only come up with results about finishes that have dried white/milky. The tins have been stored in my garage/workshop which is attached to the house, and while temperatures, with a bit of temporary heating have been around 15c today, they may have dropped much colder at times since purchase, could this be a problem for storage?

 

[Boatfixer]

Totally normal for water based.

 

[Ollie78]

Been using some Polyvine varnish which is waterbased and is almost like thin custard consistency when you pour it from the bottle, as soon as you brush some on it goes clear, it is wierd stuff compared to a solvent based product.

 

[Cabinetman]

Yes that’s as expected. Try them on scrap wood first and it may help you decide which to use for your situation.
Ian

 

[Peter907]

Thank you.
It is so helpful to have access to this forum and get answers to queries quickly. My newbie question sounds quite trivial, but I was perplexed after not being able to Google the answer. Quite a big deal to me as I'd spent a couple of hours on the lathe making a nice little candlestick Christmas gift and was worried about messing it up by applying a finish I was unsure about.

 

[AES]

@Peter907:

If it's any consolation mate, I made exactly the same mistake a few years back, the first time I bought some water based varnish. In my case I even took it back to the shop to ask was this white milky stuff REALLY going to turn into a clear varnish when dry. I'm sure they thought I'm a numpty, but as you now know, the answer is YES, it does!

 

[Peter907]

@AES It's not just me then

 

[Max Power]

How old is your Cavalier Peter, we've got a Blenheim girl?

 

[Peter907]

@Max Power
The dog in my profile pic is Maisie when she was a puppy. Maisie died over a year ago just before her 10th birthday after several years of health problems. She was our first doggie death, which hit us quite hard. She was a little princess with a lovely character.
We now have four cavaliers, three of which knew Maisie and missed her. Marley 10 a tricolour, Murphy 6 a ruby, Millie 3 a black and tan, and Maddie 1 a ruby. My mother-in-law has a blenheim Harry who is 12. They make a lovely affectionate pack and it's great fun when we have them all out on a walk together.
So, like you, we love cavaliers .
How old is yours and what's her name?

 

[Max Power]

@Max Power
The dog in my profile pic is Maisie when she was a puppy. Maisie died over a year ago just before her 10th birthday after several years of health problems. She was our first doggie death, which hit us quite hard. She was a little princess with a lovely character.
We now have four cavaliers, three of which knew Maisie and missed her. Marley 10 a tricolour, Murphy 6 a ruby, Millie 3 a black and tan, and Maddie 1 a ruby. My mother-in-law has a blenheim Harry who is 12. They make a lovely affectionate pack and it's great fun when we have them all out on a walk together.
So, like you, we love cavaliers .
How old is yours and what's her name?

Rosie is 4, and we've just been given a Blenheim puppy by a relative, so excited about getting her when she's ready.She's being called Poppy. Our last little dog died a while back, it's always upsetting losing them.

 

[MF1000]

I’ve had issues with water based varnishes discolouring over a couple of years after application…going to a horrible yellowy colour on a an oak slab table

 

[Peter907]

Rosie is 4, and we've just been given a Blenheim puppy by a relative, so excited about getting her when she's ready.She's being called Poppy. Our last little dog died a while back, it's always upsetting losing them.

Looks like you're on track for a larger pack like we have. We said we'd stick at just 2 dogs, but that didn't happen. They all have different characters and lovely reactions between each other. You may find that poppy initially gets shunned by Rosie for a week or three, but they'll soon work it all out and end up as best friends.