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Monday 7:30am - 4pm Tuesday 7:30am - 4pm Wednesday 7:30am - 4pm Thursday 7:30am - 4pm Friday 7:30am - 4pm

Novalk USA, 361 W Longview Avenue, Mansfield, OH (2026)

10/15/2026

🧠 NOVALK KNOWS | TECH TALK THURSDAY

🔗 ADHESION IS A SYSTEM, NOT A PRODUCT.

One of the most common mistakes when troubleshooting adhesion problems is assuming the topcoat is responsible simply because it's the layer that's peeling or scratching off.

In reality, adhesion is influenced by everything happening beneath and between the coating layers.

1. Substrate Preparation

Dust, oils, waxes, silicone contamination, and other surface residues can prevent a coating from establishing a reliable bond.

2. Stain & Coating Compatibility

Not every stain is compatible with every clear coat. Slow-drying oil-based stains, residual solvents, and certain additives can interfere with adhesion and proper film formation.

3. Surface Preparation Between Coats

Sanding isn't simply about creating a smooth surface. Proper preparation also helps establish the conditions necessary for reliable intercoat adhesion.

4. Application & Drying Conditions

Excessive film build, low temperatures, high humidity, or insufficient drying time can interfere with film formation and adhesion development.

5. Cure Time

Dry to the touch doesn't mean fully cured. Evaluating adhesion prematurely can produce misleading results, particularly with reactive two-component systems.

Here's the important takeaway:

If a coating performs well over properly prepared raw wood but fails over a stained or previously finished surface, that difference is an important diagnostic clue.

Before changing coatings or increasing catalyst levels, investigate the entire finishing system.

Adhesion isn't determined by one product. It's the result of a properly designed and executed finishing process.

10/13/2026

💧 **PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT | NCW105 WATERBORNE HARDENER**

**A better hardener can make a difference in both application and finished-film performance.**

With the introduction of NCW105, Novalk has taken another step forward in refining our two-component waterborne coating systems.

Developed to replace our previous NCW80 hardener, NCW105 brings several improvements that we've been particularly pleased with during our initial application and curing evaluations.

🔹 **Longer Pot Life** – More usable working time after mixing, providing greater flexibility during application.

🔹 **Easier Mixing & Incorporation** – Incorporates more readily into the coating, making material preparation easier and more consistent.

🔹 **Improved Flow & Leveling** – Smoother application characteristics that help produce a more uniform finished surface.

🔹 **Smoother, Silkier Finish** – A noticeably more refined surface appearance following application and cure.

🔹 **Improved Film Performance** – Our early evaluations have also shown encouraging improvements in finished-film durability and resistance to surface marring.

What stands out about NCW105 is that these improvements aren't limited to one aspect of the finishing process.

From initial mixing and application through the development of the finished film, we're seeing positive differences compared with NCW80.

For cabinet manufacturers, millwork operations, and professional wood finishers, these refinements can contribute to a more efficient application process and a higher-quality finished product.

**Longer pot life. Easier application. A more refined finish.**

Learn more about Novalk's waterborne finishing systems at novalkusa.com.

10/08/2026

🧠 NOVALK KNOWS | TECH TALK THURSDAY

💰 The Cheapest Gallon Isn’t Always the Least Expensive Finish

Coating A costs $60/gallon.

Coating B costs $80/gallon.

Which one actually costs more?

You don’t have enough information to answer that question.

Price per gallon matters—but it doesn’t tell you what a coating actually costs to use.

The better question is:

👉 What does it cost to produce an acceptable finished part?

Here’s what really affects that number:

🧪 Volume Solids
How much actual coating film remains after the water or solvent leaves?

🎯 Transfer Efficiency
How much material leaving the gun actually lands on the part?

📏 Film Build & Coverage
How much material—and how many coats—are required to achieve the specified finish?

⏱️ Labor & Throughput
Spraying, flashing, sanding, handling, recoating and cleaning all cost money.

🔄 Rework & Rejects
Every defect consumes additional material, labor and production time.

That’s why the cheapest gallon can sometimes produce the most expensive finished part.

💡 THE TAKEAWAY

Don’t stop at:

PRICE PER GALLON

Look deeper:

Cost per mixed gallon → Cost per applied square foot → Cost per finished part → Total finishing cost

Your customer isn’t buying gallons of coating.

They’re buying finished cabinets, doors, furniture and millwork.

👇 What number does your shop use to measure finishing cost?

10/06/2026

🎯 PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT

Deep Colors Demand the Right Foundation.

Highly saturated colors can place very different demands on a coating system.

As pigment loads increase, maintaining the right balance of coverage, build, application, sanding, and performance becomes increasingly important.

That's why Novalk offers dedicated converter basecoats formulated specifically around the demands of highly pigmented colors.

🔹 NFH15944 Solvent Pre-Cat Converter Basecoat

Designed for deep, highly pigmented and saturated colors.

✅ 55% solids by weight
✅ High coverage
✅ Easy sanding
✅ Fast dry
✅ Excellent vertical hang
✅ Great for MDF & wood
✅ Virtually formaldehyde free

🔹 NFH15933 Solvent Conversion Varnish HS Converter Basecoat

An extra-high-solids basecoat formulated for high pigmentation.

✅ 58% ± 2 solids by weight
✅ Enhanced coverage
✅ Easy sanding
✅ Fast dry
✅ Excellent vertical hang
✅ Melamine resin technology for exceptional hardness
✅ Virtually formaldehyde free

🎨 Why a dedicated converter base?

When you're developing deep and highly saturated colors, getting the color right is only part of the equation.

The coating still needs to apply properly, build efficiently, sand well, and perform as part of the complete finishing system.

These purpose-built converter bases give color technicians and professional finishers a foundation designed specifically around the demands of higher pigmentation.

Because great color isn't just about the pigment.

The chemistry underneath it matters too.

10/02/2026

End-User Feature | Little River Cabinet Shop

There’s a lot to appreciate about this one.

This week, we’re showcasing a beautiful custom kitchen from Little River Cabinet Shop, serving the North Atlanta Metro area.

The contrast between the crisp painted cabinetry and rich oak accents immediately catches your eye. But take a closer look at the finish itself—the consistency across the doors, drawers, detailed moldings, open shelving, and large island is a great example of the attention to detail that goes into professional shop finishing.

There’s a reason our labels say “Restricted to Professional Users.”

Great coatings are only part of the equation. Proper preparation, application technique, film build, environmental conditions, and the skill of the finisher are what ultimately turn those coatings into a beautiful finished product.

For this project, Ashley Stone, Lead Finisher at Little River Cabinet Shop, and the team used:

🔹 AquaNova 917 Waterborne Primer — tinted to Benjamin Moore Ballet White
🔹 AquaNova 934 Waterborne Topcoat — 30 Sheen — Benjamin Moore Ballet White
🔹 AquaNova 934 Clear — 30 Sheen — protecting and enhancing the rich natural character of the oak

The combination of Ballet White, the dark oak accents, brass hardware, and detailed millwork came together beautifully. Outstanding work by Ashley and the entire Little River team.

And to everyone who trusts Novalk products as part of their finishing process—thank you. We never take that trust for granted.

📸 Have a Novalk project you’re proud of? Send it our way!

We want to continue showcasing the incredible work being done by professional finishers throughout our community. By sharing projects, processes, successes, and what we learn along the way, we can continue to educate, inspire, and learn from one another.

That’s what this community is all about.

10/01/2026

🧠 NOVALK KNOWS | TECH TALK THURSDAY

🔍 Where Do Fisheyes Really Come From?

The Contamination You Can’t See
The surface looks clean.
The booth looks clean.
The coating looks fine.

Then you pull the trigger...

and craters begin opening in the wet film.

So, what happened?

🧪 Fisheyes are fundamentally a wetting problem.

For a coating to form a uniform film, it must properly wet the surface.

When a localized area contains silicone, oil, grease, wax or another contaminant with different surface-energy characteristics, the coating can pull away instead of wetting that spot uniformly.

The result is the circular crater we call a fisheye.

The difficult part is finding where the contamination came from.

💨 Compressed Air — Compressor oil, moisture, contaminated airlines or inadequate filtration.

🛠️ Equipment — Lubricants from machinery, conveyors, pneumatic components or maintenance.

🧴 Silicones & Aerosols — Polishes, lubricants and other products that can migrate through a finishing environment.

🧽 Cleaning & Handling — Contaminated rags, gloves, cleaners, oils or residues.
🌲 Substrate — Wax, adhesive residue, previous finishes or contamination introduced during fabrication.

🔬 How do you troubleshoot it?

Don’t change everything at once. Isolate variables.

Coating → Gun → Air Supply → Environment → Substrate

Spray onto a known-clean test panel using clean equipment. Then change one variable at a time until the defect disappears or reappears.

That helps determine whether you have a coating problem, equipment problem, air problem or contaminated substrate.

And fisheye eliminator?

It may improve wetting and help manage the symptom, but it doesn’t remove the source of contamination.

💡 THE TAKEAWAY

Fisheyes are often a contamination problem disguised as a coating problem.

When they appear:

Don’t chase the crater. Trace the contamination.

👇 What’s the strangest source of fisheye contamination you’ve ever tracked down?

09/30/2026

THREE PRODUCTS. ONE MORE COMPLETE WATERBORNE WORKFLOW.

A professional finish takes more than the coating alone. This Product Highlight brings together three Novalk products to help with application, equipment cleanup, and leftover paint waste.

💧 APPLY | NU 1034
Water-Based Flow Additive & Retarder

Keep your wet edge and give your coating more time to flow. NU 1034 helps improve leveling, minimize orange peel and surface texture, and reduce dry spray and dry overspray—especially when spraying large panels or complex millwork.

🛠️ CLEAN | NU 1288
Water-Based Paint Cleaner

Tackle wet, partially dried, and fully cured water-based paint on equipment and tools. Use straight, without dilution, for routine cleaning or overnight pump maintenance after a thorough water flush. Keeping paint contamination low allows reuse while the cleaner remains effective. Also suitable for compatible parts in approved ultrasonic cleaning equipment.

♻️ MANAGE | NU 361
Water-Based Paint Solidifier

Make leftover paint easier to handle. NU 361 solidifies water-based paint waste, helping reduce free liquid, sloshing, and the mess that comes with handling liquid leftovers.

Smoother application. Thorough cleanup. More manageable waste.

Contact your Novalk distributor for product guidance and recommended use.

Follow product and equipment instructions. Dispose of treated waste according to applicable requirements and your waste service’s acceptance criteria.

09/25/2026

🧠 NOVALK KNOWS | TECH TALK THURSDAY

💧 Water Isn’t Just Another Solvent

One of the biggest mistakes when moving from solventborne to waterborne coatings?

Expecting them to behave the same way.

Water isn’t simply a replacement for organic solvent. Its physical properties change how a coating wets, flows, evaporates and forms a film.

💧 Surface Tension

Water has higher surface tension than many common solvents, which affects substrate wetting and makes proper surface preparation and contamination control especially important.

🌡️ Evaporation

With solventborne coatings, reducer selection provides significant control over evaporation.

With waterborne, temperature, airflow and relative humidity become major process variables.

💨 Humidity

When the surrounding air already contains significant moisture, water leaves the coating more slowly.

That can affect flash time, flow, leveling and production schedules.

🔗 Film Formation

Many waterborne coatings rely on polymer particles coming together—or coalescing—as water leaves the film.

That process needs the right balance of temperature, airflow and evaporation.

🌲 Wood Reacts Differently Too

Water can interact with wood fibers differently than organic solvents, contributing to grain raise and changing how the substrate absorbs the coating.

💡 THE TAKEAWAY

Waterborne isn’t solventborne with the solvent removed.

It’s a different technology with different application and film-formation behavior.

The key isn’t forcing waterborne coatings to behave like solventborne.

It’s optimizing the finishing process around the chemistry.

👇 If you’ve transitioned to waterborne, what process adjustment made the biggest difference in your shop?

09/23/2026

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT: 904B High-Solids 2K Polyurethane Primer

A truly high-end finishing system begins with the right foundation.

At approximately 80% solids, Novalk 904B is a true solvent-borne 2K polyurethane primer engineered for discerning professional finishers who demand exceptional build, clean sanding, and a consistently refined surface.

During recent application testing, 904B produced impressive film build in a single coat, dried for sanding in approximately 60 minutes, and powdered cleanly with 400-grit sandpaper. Even visible application texture leveled easily during sanding.

For manufacturers currently using a two-coat, wet-on-wet conversion varnish primer process, 904B may provide an opportunity to achieve the required build with one high-solids polyurethane primer coat—reducing unnecessary steps while creating a superior foundation for the finish.

Its versatility also allows it to serve as a high-performance base beneath compatible solvent-borne topcoats or waterborne 1K and 2K topcoats once properly cured and prepared.

✅ Approximately 80% solids
✅ Exceptional film build
✅ Clean, consistent sanding
✅ Excellent holdout and surface uniformity
✅ Flexible solvent-borne or waterborne topcoat options
✅ Designed for premium, high-performance finishing systems

For finishers who expect more from every layer of the system, 904B delivers from the foundation up.

Learn more at novalkusa.com.

09/17/2026

🧠 NOVALK KNOWS | TECH TALK THURSDAY

💨 You Can Dry a Coating Too Aggressively

More airflow means faster drying.

Faster drying means better production.

Right? Not always.

Airflow is essential. It removes the water- or solvent-rich air above a wet coating, allowing evaporation to continue.

But when surface evaporation happens too quickly, the top of the film can begin to set before water or solvent deeper in the coating has time to escape.

That can lead to:

❌ Poor flow and leveling
❌ Orange peel or surface texture
❌ Dry spray and poor overspray acceptance
❌ A surface that feels dry while the film underneath is still developing
❌ Film-formation problems in some coating systems

What’s happening inside the film?

As water or solvent evaporates from the surface, resin and solids become more concentrated near the top.

If that surface sets too quickly, it can make it harder for moisture or solvent deeper in the film to move outward and escape.

That’s why effective drying is not simply a matter of using more hot air.

Several variables must work together:

💨 Air Velocity — Removes evaporated water or solvent from above the film.

🌡️ Temperature — Influences evaporation rate and film formation.

⏱️ Flash Time — Gives the coating time to flow, level and release initial volatiles before force drying.

📏 Film Build — Heavier films need more time for water or solvent to escape.

💧 Humidity — Plays an especially important role with waterborne coatings.

💡 THE TAKEAWAY

The goal isn’t maximum airflow or maximum heat. It’s controlled evaporation throughout the film.

Sometimes, faster production doesn’t come from turning up the oven or airflow.

It comes from creating a better drying profile.

👇 What drying adjustment has made the biggest difference in your process: airflow, temperature, flash time or film build?

Novalk USA

10/15/2026

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Monday	7:30am - 4pm
Tuesday	7:30am - 4pm
Wednesday	7:30am - 4pm
Thursday	7:30am - 4pm
Friday	7:30am - 4pm