I have been using butyl acetate to retard my magnaklear to prevent solvent pop. I couldn't get the solvent pop to go away until I was using the butyl acetate at 20%.

I'm using CA Tech AAA sprayer.

Today I found that the magnaklear had wrinkled as it dried. Odd thing was it was only a few pieces and not the whole job.

Am I using too much butyl acetate? Should I just stay away from magnaklear?

I've been struggling with the magnaklear since the air humidity has dropped.

Magnamax doesn't have either of these problems. I use magnaklear because it supposedly won't yellow over time like the magnamax will.

Any ideas on what's going on with my using of magnaklear?

Using magnasand as a sealer.

I stopped using MagnaKlear because of the random wrinkling I had with it after they reformulated it.

They said they didn't reformulate but I had been using it for 2 1/2 years without a single incident. And then they changed the stickers for the expiration date from 120 days to 60 days and since then I was having random wrinkle issues.

Happened on a whole kitchen job and it just killed any profit I was going to make.

Switched to Krystal and haven't looked back.

With Krystal being a post cat, what are you using for a sealer?

Also how much of a pain or headache is it to deal with catalyzing everything and dealing with really short pot lives?

They have a Krystal Sealer, I don't use it. I use Krystal as a self seal.

The only advantage I got with using MagnaMax and MagnaKlear was being able to pour the left over back into the can and reuse it later.

8 hour pot life isn't that much of a hindrance. Mixing the catalyst is the same as mixing in thinner, you're doing it anyway.

The advantage is much more durable finish. It sands to a powder. It dries a bit slower but that doesn't bother me much.

If you are trying to be frugal you can mix in about 10% of your old spent finish with a new mixture. I don't do this, why take a chance.

I've never worked with a post cat clear top coat.
Interesting that it sands up really nice. I'm just used to top coats that'll gum up the sandpaper if you sand it.

Might have to give this system a shot. Regular lacquer thinners good for cleaning out the guns and hoses, given it's within the pot life window?

This isn't like a 2K poly where it will harden in the line if you let it go past the pot life. I've accidentally left it overnight and it's just as thin as it was within the pot life. The only thing you need to worry about is the tip.

I've been using the wash thinner to clean up. But I think any lacquer thinner you have you can use for clean up. I'd recommend sticking with the MLC thinners to use while spraying.

I almost always stick 5% Reducer into the mix no matter the temperature. Twice I had some solvent pop when I didn't use the thinner, so I always put a bit in.

Yes, I always had the gummy sandpaper with the Klear and Max. The sanding sealers really didn't have that problem but they were delicate and you could burn though a stained corner very easy. It's much harder to burn into the color with Krystal, another advantage.

As long as you have a good temperature in the drying area and don't push the time before you sand, it'll powder up very nice. Much more of a pleasure to work with than the Magna series in that aspect.

Plus you can get away with two coats which I prefer because the third coat starts to look a bit plasticy.

Very interesting to hear about the resistance to breakthrough on the seal coat, especially pertaining to the stained pieces. I'm always using a very worn out piece of 320 to prevent scratching through and burning past the stain layer.

So stick to a 5% retarder? You using a straight up Butyl Acetate or the Standard Care Reducer C1611?

I just happened to purchase 5 gallons of butyl acetate and need to work it through now that I have it.

Thank you so much for all the insights here, I really appreciate it!

Just a note if you want to use a non yellowing finish such as Magnaklear it is best to use it self sealing or with the water white vinyl. Magnasand will yellow out over time despite the Magnaklear having UV protection so best not to use something that will yellow under a non yellowing clear.

I stick with the Care Reducer myself. I always try to stay within the system of whatever I am spraying. Keeps up their warranty.

But any finish warranty is pretty pathetic. They'll give you the finish back but nothing for your rework labor.

Thanks for that info JaySun. I hadn't thought of that. I ignorantly just thought the magnaklear would have just negated the yellowing/non-yellowing properties of the coats underneath.

I'll do the same as you Leo. Keep with the same system and it's chems.

Thank you guys for all the tips and help. I really appreciate it!

I agree with Leo on the reducers. Not on the warranty. How would they know which reducer you used? Simply for the chemistry. The guys who make the finish should make the best reducer for it.

Lacquer thinner has many formulations. How would you know which is good, bad, or ugly? One finish might like one brand and another finish might not.

Butyl Acetate is good stuff. But its definitely not the same as the proprietary thinner reducers.

The first example that comes to mind is Interlux brand of marine finish. They sell a spray reducer and a brushing liquid. They are two of the worst smelling chemical solutions I've ever smelled. Kinda like gasoline or diesel mixed with some other stuff. It is the best stuff ever for brushing or spraying varnish. You could use naptha or your other favorite smelling solvent, but they will not work as well as the real stuff.