Have you been struggling to get a super smooth paint finish? Struggle no more! We are thrilled to introduce our newest Fusion product, Extender! It works by not allowing the paint to dry quickly, therefore giving you what’s known in the paint industry as “more open time”, which is more working time with the paint before it dries. Therefore Extender can help eliminate the appearance of brush strokes! It’s really easy to use, we will show you below how to use it and achieve a perfectly smooth finish!

Sometimes the culprit to brushstrokes is the tools used or the too much paint on the tools, or sometimes it can simply be the environment, that’s where the Extender comes in handy! Check out this post on the Top 5 Paint Tools Every DIY’er needs! Ensure that you’re using a high-quality fine brush like our Staalmeester Brushes, they have the perfect synthetic bristles to avoid leaving brush strokes behind. Generally using too much paint will create excess ridges and lines from simply too much product on the surface. However, sometimes the environment is too hot and or dry, and the paint simply dries too quickly creating more brushstrokes. Adding some Extender to your paint will help to eliminate those brush strokes. It’s as simple as adding a few drops to your paint! Just follow this simple tutorial to ensure a brush-stroke-free look on your next Fusion project.

Supplies: 

• –Extender 
• Fusion’s Lamp White
• Sanding pad 
• TSP
• Popsicle stick 
• Fusion 2″ synthetic angled brush

Steps: 

Prep your piece. To begin with, clean your piece with TSP and give it a light scuff sand. Using these products and completing proper prep helps ensure a durable long-lasting paint job.

To begin with mix a quarter of a bottle (15ml) up to half a bottle of Extender (30ml) together with a pint. Using 1 bottle is good for 2-4 pints. Less can be added if desired. Adding more is not recommended as it will impact your drying and curing time. 

Stir well together. Here we used a popsicle stick, they work well for this. 

Paint your first coat. Thanks to the Extender there will be a longer drying time giving more time to work with the paint and smooth out any excess.

Once your first coat fully dries, apply subsequent coats as needed. We recommend waiting at least 4 hours between coats when using the Extender. If you notice the second coat is lifting off the first, either you used too much extender, or it needs more time to dry and cure before applying another coat. Patience is key when using Extender.  As we‘re covering a dark piece the 2nd coat was required for full coverage. 

And now your beautiful piece is ready for its home!

Have you struggled with brush strokes? Are you excited to try our Extender? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to share your projects with us on our Paint it Beautiful forum on Facebook! Visit us on Instagram for some inspo and great tips!