Big Day In The Spray Booth

THE FINISHER  in action!

It is an exciting day in our Finishing Area!  We have several very large items being worked on right now, and most of them will be done within a few days.

Just to give you the tally,  we have 3 Dining Room Table Tops,  4 Table Leaves, 1 Vanity Table, 1 Pedistal Table Base, 2 Sideboards, and the top of a Hutch.  That is quite a bit of finishing to do!    And as soon as all of these items are out of the way, there are more items to fill the space.

It is nice to know that we are spraying a water based finish on these table tops, so that when families sit down to eat, the surface they are eating off of is safe and non-toxic!  Most other finishes used are still solvent based, flammable and contain toxins. The most widely used furniture finish, conversion varnish, contains formaldehyde. Newer formulations have reduced the quantity, but even small amounts are dangerous. A January 2007 article posted on the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's website outlines some of the concerns with conversion varnish. Here are relevant excerpts:

One type of coating used extensively in the furniture industry is the alkyd/urea-formaldehyde topcoat. These are thermosetting resins and are frequently called conversion varnishes or catalyzed finishes...From an indoor air perspective, these varnishes are of interest because volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including formaldehyde, may be emitted during use...The long-lasting formaldehyde emissions can cause elevated concentrations in indoor environments.

A chart on that web page illustrates that it can take up to 3,000 hours for the level of formaldehyde emissions to drop to the level determined acceptable by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
People sensitive to certain solvents may also have trouble with the off-gassing of the solvents in modern reformulated lacquers which are VOC compliant.
It is not difficult to conclude that the best choice in finishes from the perspective of health and safety, is certainly water based finishes.


Is your dining room table safe to eat off of?  If not, bring it to us, we would be happy to give you a nice new SAFE water based finish!