Fusion™ Ultra Grip is for those extra difficult surfaces to promote the best adhesion possible.
Why isn’t Fusion™ paint good enough on its own? For most projects, it is, however, we like to think that Ultra Grip™ makes the impossible, possible!
Some super tricky surfaces require an even stronger adhesion provided by our Fusion™ Ultra Grip™. Laminate, lacquered or high gloss surfaces formerly deemed to be nearly impossible to paint are no longer impossible with the use of our Fusion™ Ultra Grip™. You can even paint metal, glass and even some plastics with it! Made with pure resin, Ultra Grip™ will adhere much better than paint which contains other ingredients such as pigments and minerals.
How to Use
Apply a coat of Ultra Grip™ after you have lightly sanded and cleaned your surface. Be sure to remove any wax or pledge that may have been pre-existing as those coatings really like to repel anything applied. Allow Ultra Grip™ to dry for 12 hours for best results on those super tricky surfaces, then continue with Fusion™ Mineral Paint. If you do not wish to wait the 12 hours, in most cases you will be fine painting just after a couple of hours, however, if your surface is exceptionally tricky and slick, when you add another coat of paint over top of the Ultra Grip™, you may re-active it as you have not allowed it enough time to cure.
Remember these are water-based coatings with no harmful chemicals or solvents, the way it cures it through the evaporation of water. If you apply another coat of “water”, and paint of top, you’re not allowing the ultra grip enough time to do its job. If you allow for the proper curing time, you won’t be disappointed! Think of starting your project at night, applying your Ultra Grip™ and then coming back in the morning to apply your paint.
* Please note that Ultra Grip™ is not intended to seal in stains. We recommend Zinser Clear Shellac to seal in stains or knots.
Fun Fact – Ultra Grip™ dries clear!
Common question: Can I mix Ultra Grip™ in with Fusion™ Mineral Paint?
You can, however, keep in mind that Ultra Grip™ is 100% pure resin, so adding paint to it will essentially make it less effective. Best to apply your Ultra Grip™ first, then Fusion™ Mineral Paint, which will bind to the surface of the Ultra Grip™ after.
Ultra Grip™ in Action!
The total curing time of the Ultra Grip™ is 21 days. We did a scratch test to show you how Ultra Grip™ performs in the first week of curing. The results were excellent! We applied Ultra Grip™ on birch veneer, previously finished with lacquer, a stubborn substrate to paint. In order to really test the durability of the Ultra Grip™, we did not do any prep work or sanding to the finish of the material before its application. Ultra Grip™ has a whitish sheen in the first 15 – 30 minutes after applying. The longer it dries, the more transparent it gets. When applying, make sure you cover everything with an even coat, making sure there is no pooling or missed spots.
After allowing the Ultra Grip™ to dry for 12 hours we applied the first coat of Fusion™ Champlain. We allowed the first coat of Champlain to also cure for 12 hours before applying the second and final coat of colour. These drying times are what you would ideally do when you’re painting a piece of furniture with Ultra Grip™ and Fusion™ Mineral Paint. You can’t take the curing times in the test below too literally as there can be factors such as climate, humidity and the surface of the material to be painted that can affect the curing time of the paint and Ultra Grip™. This is merely an example to show you that with just a little bit of patience, you’ll get excellent results combining Ultra Grip™ and Fusion™ Mineral Paint on stubborn surfaces.
The Results
We immediately proceeded with our scratch test (the Ultra Grip™ had been drying and curing now for 36 hours): when we scratched with our nail with very low pressure or scratched the surface with a tool, no paint came off, but when we used medium pressure and even scratched with a knife, the paint started coming off. Conclusion: Ultra Grip™ and Fusion™ Mineral Paint hadn’t fully cured, which is typical after such a short time.
An extra day of curing time made a big difference: after the Ultra Grip™ had been curing for 60 hours, we really had to abuse the material and paint to get anything off. After the Ultra Grip™ had been curing for 84 hours, we could only get one small spot off after severely abusing the material.
And after the Ultra Grip™ had been curing for 96 hours (4 days!), the Ultra Grip™ + Fusion™
Fusion™ Mineral Paint was as hard solid as a rock: Excellent Adhesion!
We strive to make the impossible possible and let your imagination be the only limiting factor in any of your creations or projects that are often tricky to paint, not with Ultra Grip™!
* A special thank you to Old Red Barn for providing this content.