My review of Diamond Clear

[Dave38]

I have been experimenting with some different finishes and after using the Diamond Clear on a few test pieces, I stopped doing the other types and have decided to use the Diamond. I have completed 3 cues with this finish now and am very happy with the results. I am using a waterbased floor sealer, then applying the finish. It says it can be applied right to wood, but I found that not to work well, as the finish seeped into the pores, and I always had divots due to that. I use a foam brush to apply it. If sprayed, it will release the isocyanates in it and a booth with explosion-proof fans and the really good masks and air cleaners, etc are needed. It also is flammable when sprayed. It does take awhile to cure, as it is a 1 part clear coat and uses moisture to cure it. If the humidity is low it takes longer to dry between coats. If the humidity is high, they recommend thinning it with their special thinner so that you don't get air bubbles trapped in it as it will cure faster with the high humidity. I haven't had that issue yet as the humidity is only about 55% right now. Once it gets to the summer norm of around 75-85%, I'll have a better idea. It seems to have a very good depth once the finish is buffed out. It sands well and buffs really easily, IMO. I also like the feel of the cue after it's done. It doesn't have a plastic feel like some others do. It is a hard finish, and I have done the banging test, and if hit hard enough, it does dent, but the finish didn't lift.
It is very important to follow the instructions on using and storing the product, I have had it harden in the baby food jars after a few uses because I relied only on the seal of the lid. I now use a piece of waxpaper on the jar, then put the lid on. When they say it may weld the lid on if you spill it on the lip, they are not kidding at all.
Overall, it's a bit tricky to use at first, but I think it's a great finish that can be brushed on. Here is a link to their page: http://www.kbs-coatings.com/DiamondFinish-Clear-Directions.html I bought a quart from my local Sherwin Williams automotive paint store, it wasn't cheap but my son got an employee discount...lol
This s one of the cues that I did with it: http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?p=4740118#post4740118
Hope this benefits someone
Dave

 

[conetip]

That is a great looking finish you have there.
How durable does it seem so far? early days I know.
What floor product are you sealing with 1st?
How much time is it to go from wood to the final gloss approximately ?

It is interesting about the release when being sprayed. Is this common with all the isocyanate paint products?
I assume the dust from this stuff is just as bad as the other automotive finish or am I wrong?

Thanks for any other info.
Neil

 

[Bishop]

Thanks for the write up. How long are you allowing the floor sealer to cure before applying the clear? I notice some floor derived sealers like Woodturners takes as long as 5 days to fully cure. On some actual floor sealers it can be as long as 24 hours.

How many coats of clear did you apply and how long did you wait in between coats?

Their Q&A says you can sand within 24 hours...did that work for you or did you end up waiting it out a bit longer?

 

[Dave38]

That is a great looking finish you have there.
How durable does it seem so far? early days I know.
What floor product are you sealing with 1st?
How much time is it to go from wood to the final gloss approximately ?

It is interesting about the release when being sprayed. Is this common with all the isocyanate paint products?
I assume the dust from this stuff is just as bad as the other automotive finish or am I wrong?

Thanks for any other info.
Neil

I'm just using the waterbased floor sealer that Home Depot sells, I have a gallon of it left so why not use it. I like it as it has a thicker body to it, so it fills the grain faster with fewer coats. I also brushed on. I wait at least 24 hrs before sanding the sealer. I haven't done a cue yet where I start at a specific time and do everything in 'lock-step' I do a bit here and there, and then it may sit for a week or three before getting back to it. As to the release of the isocyanates, as far as I know, most all auto clears have them. The real danger is when spraying, it atomizes them and therefore makes it easy to inhale, which is really bad. As for the sanding dust, I'm not sure how bad it is, but I have a down draft setup on the sanding lathe and usually wear a dust mask, with filters.
Dave

 

[Dave38]

Thanks for the write up. How long are you allowing the floor sealer to cure before applying the clear? I notice some floor derived sealers like Woodturners takes as long as 5 days to fully cure. On some actual floor sealers it can be as long as 24 hours.

How many coats of clear did you apply and how long did you wait in between coats?

Their Q&A says you can sand within 24 hours...did that work for you or did you end up waiting it out a bit longer?

24 hrs minimum on the sealer. This waterbased one is ready for topcoat within 24 hrs. I usually put on 3-4 coats depending on how fast it dries. As I said above, the humidity level really dictates the actual cure time. My booth keeps the temp around 78-82 degrees, and everything is on a timer. After sanding if anymore is needed, I'll do another 2-3 coats. I have sanded after 24 hrs and have waited 3 weeks. I found it sanded and buffed fine either way, but after buffing, I noticed on the test piece that there were areas a day or two later that 'sunk' a bit, almost looked like pitting, so I don't sand and buff until after at least a week.
Dave

 

[Bishop]

24 hrs minimum on the sealer. This waterbased one is ready for topcoat within 24 hrs. I usually put on 3-4 coats depending on how fast it dries. As I said above, the humidity level really dictates the actual cure time. My booth keeps the temp around 78-82 degrees, and everything is on a timer. After sanding if anymore is needed, I'll do another 2-3 coats. I have sanded after 24 hrs and have waited 3 weeks. I found it sanded and buffed fine either way, but after buffing, I noticed on the test piece that there were areas a day or two later that 'sunk' a bit, almost looked like pitting, so I don't sand and buff until after at least a week.
Dave

I wonder if the pitting could be the sealer not the clear. It sets up good enough to take a finish but hasn't fully hardened after 24 hours.

Thanks for the info, I think I'll give this stuff a shot.

 

[GBCues]

Hi Dave,
That finish looks great:thumbup:
A couple of questions:
1) How thick is each finished and cured coat? I realize that foam brushing can be thick or thin, depending on your technique, but did you measure yours?
2) I assume you are rotating the cue to apply the finish and while it cures. What speed are you rotating at? Does the Diamond flow out nice and smooth or do you get ripples that have to be sanded?
Thanks a lot for the product review!!
Gary

 

[cueman]

I would imagine the Diamond finish has improved over the years.
But I tried it in the 90's and put it on too thick and it stayed purple in color.
I would liked to have used it as a dipping finish on conversion cues, but the purple haze just would not work for me.

 

[Dave38]

Some pictures of the other 2 cues that show the shine better. The dufferen was a refinish and joint conversion.

 

[Dave38]

Update

Here is a picture of what happens when you don't seal the can well enough.... I used waxpaper, guess plastic wrap is better.
I just went to refill my babyfood jars that I dispense it into and found this...
Good thing I ordered a pint the other day, but it does suck to lose almost 2/3 of a quart at $50 a quart.. On the good side, the finish cured crystal clear all the way to the bottom:thumbup:
Dave

 

[TomHay]

Here is a picture of what happens when you don't seal the can well enough.... I used waxpaper, guess plastic wrap is better.
I just went to refill my babyfood jars that I dispense it into and found this...
Good thing I ordered a pint the other day, but it does suck to lose almost 2/3 of a quart at $50 a quart.. On the good side, the finish cured crystal clear all the way to the bottom:thumbup:
Dave
View attachment 341990

Dave,

In the future, if you can, top it off with nitrogen before closing. Nitrogen is heavier than air and contains no moisture. I believe some in the Urethane Industry sell "Shot of Nitrogen" in an aerosol can.

 

[GBCues]

Dave,

In the future, if you can, top it off with nitrogen before closing. Nitrogen is heavier than air and contains no moisture. I believe some in the Urethane Industry sell "Shot of Nitrogen" in an aerosol can.

You can also buy pressurized cans of Argon gas at liquor/wine stores. It is used to displace the oxygen above an open bottle of (primarily red) wine before re-corking. It is also heavier than air.
Gary

 

[KJ Cues]

You can also buy pressurized cans of Argon gas at liquor/wine stores. It is used to displace the oxygen above an open bottle of (primarily red) wine before re-corking. It is also heavier than air.
Gary

Why am I not surprised that you would know this???

Lol, KJ

 

[DaveK]

You can also buy pressurized cans of Argon gas at liquor/wine stores. It is used to displace the oxygen above an open bottle of (primarily red) wine before re-corking. It is also heavier than air.
Gary

Argon walks into a bar. The bartender freaks out "you can't be in here !". Argon doesn't react.

Dave <-- will be here all week :thumbup:

 

[GBCues]

Who me?



Gary

 

[Dave38]

I have just received a box of empty baby food jars tonight, good to know someone that runs a daycare...:grin-square:, and my plan is to dispense the full pint/quart when I receive it and reseal the jars using plastic wrap. The big issue isn't so much air, but moisture, as that is the catalyst for the finish. Right now with 50-60% humidity, it starts getting dicey.
As far as beverages, does argon help keep beer fresh?
Dave

 

[GBCues]

I have just received a box of empty baby food jars tonight, good to know someone that runs a daycare...:grin-square:, and my plan is to dispense the full pint/quart when I receive it and reseal the jars using plastic wrap. The big issue isn't so much air, but moisture, as that is the catalyst for the finish. Right now with 50-60% humidity, it starts getting dicey.
As far as beverages, does argon help keep beer fresh?
Dave

Hmmm . . . humidity here is about 13-15% so it ought to last longer.
As for beer, it is carbonated, so neither argon nor nitrogen will have any effect - they are not heavy enough to suppress the CO2 escaping.

Gary

 

[RBC]

Personally, I've never had any luck using any special measures to seal a paint can.

Just keep the groove clean, and put the lid back on dry. Make sure you tap it all the way down, and all the way around. Also, when you open it, make sure you work it up all the way around so you don't bend it too much.

As for replacing the air, bloxygen is a readily available product that does the same thing. To be honest, I've never used it or anything like it. I just keep the can clean and put the lid on all the way every time, and I've had almost no issues.


Royce

 

[sfleinen]

This discussion of nitrogen and use of the noble gases (e.g. argon) piques the chemist in me. :thumbup2:

Have any of you folks played around with Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6)? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur_hexafluoride)

Even though it's not an elemental gas like nitrogen or argon, it's the HEAVIEST of all of the safe, non-reactive gases. (It's not inert, obviously, because the US Navy uses it in the propulsion system of the Mark-5 torpedo, flowing it over a block of solid Lithium metal to form an exothermic reaction that doesn't generate any gas or bubbles.)

You can get sulfur hexafluoride at specialty gas companies. (Basically any place you can get helium in large quantities, you can get sulfur hexafluoride as well. It's a safe gas with no safety restrictions other than it's so heavy that it will replace *any* gas in a room, and if you drop a cylinder, you can suffocate in it [hypoxia]. You'd think that a gas coming from the deadly elements "sulfur" and "fluorine" would result in yet another deadly substance, but just like when the elements sodium and chlorine combine, you get a safe molecule.)

What's cool about this gas is that you can literally pour it like liquid, and if you fill a glass with it, you can float small objects on it -- like a boat that you fold from aluminum foil. It's pretty wild to see something "hovering" in a glass or aquarium tank: https://youtube.com/watch?v=u19QfJWI1oQ

Breathing some of it in (e.g. from a balloon), it has the opposite effect of helium -- making your voice octaves deeper. Check out Adam Savage from MythBusters breathing some in: https://youtube.com/watch?v=52UAEQfMTtU

The reason why I bring this up, because this may be the best gas to use for sealing paint cans -- just pour some on top of the surface of the paint, and you never have to worry about the paint drying out, because the SF6 is so heavy, that not even the vapors of the solvent in the paint can escape. Then, just put the lid on the paint can to keep the SF6 from being wafted out / escaping.

Interesting discussion,
-Sean

 

[Dave38]

Personally, I've never had any luck using any special measures to seal a paint can.

Just keep the groove clean, and put the lid back on dry. Make sure you tap it all the way down, and all the way around. Also, when you open it, make sure you work it up all the way around so you don't bend it too much.

As for replacing the air, bloxygen is a readily available product that does the same thing. To be honest, I've never used it or anything like it. I just keep the can clean and put the lid on all the way every time, and I've had almost no issues.


Royce

The company's instruction say to use smaller containers and don't work from the can directly. They also warn that if you spill any on the lid, use plastic film to cover it then replace the lid otherwise it will 'weld' itself and removal of the lid is almost impossible.
I fill the babyfood jars right to the top so there is very little air right now. I brush it on, so I use/waste more than if spraying.
Dave