Hi there,
I got a few gallons of EM7000 HBL satin a while back, maybe 6 months to a year ago. I was using it with 5% SA5 retarder and was happy with the results. In the past few weeks I got a few more gallons and it is much thinner/runnier. All 3 of the new gallons are the same. They were delivered first thing in the morning which usually means they were left on the truck over night, which where I live means they could freeze, but they were sloshing when I received them and they sat in the warm shop for a week or two before I got into them. With the original finish I had to pour slowly through a filter so it wouldn't overflow and had to wipe off the stir stick, but with the new batch it flies through the filter like it's not even there and I don't have to wipe down the stir stick because it runs off it so quick. I'm having lots of trouble getting a decent finish with it, not matter how light the coats are (1-2 mil) they still run. I have a tiny bit left of the original batch, and with the retarder they ran through my viscosity cup in 22 seconds, but the new batch straight from the can goes through in 10 seconds flat. The new stuff looks OK, it's the right colour, and is homogeneous, and there are no solids floating around or at the bottom of the can, but I just can't seem to spray it without getting runs or leaving a coat so light it just ends up rough. The product page says to avoid freezing it too many times but if it does freeze it should be OK after thawing it out, and in the past with other finishes I found that if they were ruined by freezing they would have chunkies or wouldn't mix back together into a homogeneous mixture, but these cans still look fine except for the runnyness.
I tried emailing Target Coatings but haven't heard anything yet. I'd buy some more to see if I can get more of the good stuff but don't really want to risk getting the same batch, although if it was a problem with them freezing I should be in the clear now. I don't want to switch to a new finish yet because I'm only half way through a set of cabinets and the first half was the first batch. I'm not sure what to do, any ideas?
