[Quickstep]

I know this seems silly, but I was wondering......

Why do waterborne finishes dry so fast? I mean water evaporates more slowly than almost any other solvent, but waterborne finishes dry in lightning time. I've been using General Finishes Woodturner's Finish which they say is a water/oil hybrid. I think I could get 12 coats in an hour if I wanted to. What makes it dry so fast?

 

[Fred Hargis]

I'm not a chemist or ChE, but as I understand it you are probably comparing 2 completely different chemical reactions...at least if the comparison is to oil based finishes. A waterborne coalesces to dry, that s the resins form together to make the film after the eater evaporates. The water is simply keeping them apart. The coalescing is much faster than the curing that oil base finishes go through. With them the resins are actually combining with oxygen to form the film. If I'm wrong I'm pretty sure someone will correct me.