Reading this thread (thanks Glenn) has kindled a persistent question for the group that I have had for the past year or so. Has anyone experimented with water-based coatings such as Hydrocoat Equal on refinished soundboards? Over the past few years I have progressively curtailed my rebuilding due to my chemical sensitivity to coatings. First I cut out refinishing and kept with soundboards and plates. Now, however I'm having problem with even the exposure to these (I use nitrocellulose lacquer on both). I have used Equal on household furniture and seem to tolerate it pretty well. I have some reservations about the physical properties of the material, but I am certain these can be worked out. I am skeptical though, about how a water-based coating would react with wood previously sealed with shellac. Even my most thorough scraping and sanding seems to leave traces of shellac. With nitro lacquer this is not much of a problem, but I would be concerned about the new stuff. Any thoughts, or hopefully experiences? Mark Story, RPT Eastern Washington University mstory@ewu.edu
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