Better Wood Finishing Starts Where Coatings and Automation Meet
A beautiful sample door answers one question: Can this finish look good?
A production shop has a longer list. Can we repeat it across hundreds of parts? Can we get stain into a deep shaker profile? How soon can we sand, recoat, and move the job out the door?
Those questions sit at the intersection of coating chemistry and finishing equipment.
In this episode of The Finishing Touch, Superfici America host Bret Johnson talks with Stefan De Santis of Envirolak Coatings about why paint manufacturers and automated spray equipment manufacturers need to work together. Their conversation follows an intensive visit to the Superfici America Finishing Lab, where the teams tested nine coating systems in two and a half days.
The takeaway for woodworking professionals: a reliable automated wood finishing process depends on matching the coating, application settings, drying conditions, and operator training. Joint testing helps bring those pieces together.
Watch the episode: Join Bret Johnson and Envirolak’s Stefan De Santis on The Finishing Touch for a conversation about coating and equipment collaboration, waterborne finishes, and the future of wood finishing.
Why coating manufacturers and equipment manufacturers need each other
A coating manufacturer understands how a product is formulated and how it should perform. An automated finishing equipment manufacturer understands how to apply it consistently and move parts through spraying, drying, and curing.
Both perspectives matter when a customer needs a process that works on the production floor.
Stefan’s path into coatings illustrates the connection. He began in the sandpaper business, helping customers address sanding problems so their coatings would perform properly. That experience eventually led him into developing waterborne finishes.
The lesson carries through the episode: what happens before and after spraying can be just as important as the coating itself.
When Envirolak and Superfici America test together, they can explore questions such as:
How does the coating behave on automated spray equipment?
What adjustments help achieve coverage on profiles and recessed areas?
How quickly can the coating move through drying and curing?
Which application and drying procedures give the team a useful starting point for customer support?
For a cabinet, furniture, or millwork manufacturer, that collaboration connects the product recommendation to the process required to use it.
From lab testing to a repeatable finishing process
During the visit discussed in the podcast, the teams worked through hundreds of parts and nine coating systems, exploring multiple drying scenarios for those systems.
The goal extended beyond producing attractive samples. They also developed standard operating procedures, or SOPs, to document how the tested combinations were run.
That documentation gives coating representatives and distributors something practical to take into the field. Instead of approaching an unfamiliar machine with only a product recommendation, they have experience with the equipment and tested procedures to build from.
Stefan also emphasizes the confidence that comes from participating. Distributors who initially find automation intimidating become more comfortable after watching the process and getting involved.
For the customer, the value is straightforward: the people recommending the coating have seen it run, understand more of the equipment, and can have a more informed conversation about application.
A lab procedure still needs to be adapted to the customer’s parts and production conditions. It provides a stronger place to begin.
Wood finishing trends discussed in the episode
The conversation highlights three connected developments: interest in waterborne coatings, closer attention to drying and work in process, and the importance of practical training as shops consider automation.
Waterborne coatings are changing the application conversation
Stefan reports growing interest in water-based wood coatings among the manufacturers he works with. He describes customers exploring alternatives to conversion varnish and paying closer attention to their working environment.
However, switching coatings also means learning how the new material behaves.
One example is the appearance of the freshly sprayed film. Stefan explains that chasing the immediately glass-smooth wet appearance familiar from some solvent-based finishes can lead to applying too much waterborne material.
His practical advice is to use a wet film thickness gauge to connect what the operator sees with how much coating is actually being applied. The coating manufacturer’s recommended film build should guide that process.
This is where joint expertise becomes useful. The coating supplier can explain the application target, while the equipment team helps establish settings to reach it consistently.
Stefan also discusses Envirolak’s work to develop waterborne products that compete with conversion varnish in appearance and durability. For finishers evaluating a change, the useful next step is to test the specific coating system against the performance requirements of their finished product.
Drying is becoming part of the capacity discussion
A finishing department full of wet parts can look like a space problem. Bret and Stefan suggest looking at how long those parts remain in process.
If racks occupy the floor while coatings dry, increasing spray output alone may leave the shop with more parts waiting for the next step.
As Stefan puts it:
“You need to get your work in process off the floor quicker.”
The teams’ waterborne UV testing offers an example of why coatings and drying equipment should be evaluated together. Bret describes one tested process using approximately two to two and a half minutes in the SuperDry before UV curing under the lamps.
That timing belongs to the coating and conditions used in that lab trial. Its broader significance is the opportunity to test application, drying, and curing as one connected process.
For a shop considering more floor space, the episode raises a useful question: How much of the finishing department is occupied by parts waiting to dry?
Training helps shops put automation to work
Bret and Stefan also discuss a concern that can hold shops back: whether their team can operate automated finishing equipment.
Their conversation emphasizes hands-on experience and documented procedures as ways to build confidence.
Stefan describes Envirolak University as an opportunity for finishers and distributors to spray, dry, sand, and learn through direct participation. At the Superfici America lab, that learning extends to seeing coatings run through automated equipment.
For an experienced finisher, automation offers a way to translate application knowledge into a repeatable procedure. Understanding coverage, film build, and finish quality remains valuable when establishing settings and evaluating results.
The partnership helps connect that finishing experience with equipment operation.
What the partnership means for cabinet and woodworking manufacturers
One of the most revealing examples in the episode involves spray stains on shaker doors.
Bret and Stefan discuss samples with recessed profiles, including maple and walnut parts. Their explanation brings the two sides of the partnership together: the machine needs to be adjusted for coverage, and the stain needs to be formulated to perform in those profiles.
That is a useful model for evaluating any finishing change.
Before investing in automation or introducing a new coating, bring your coating representative and equipment manufacturer into the same conversation. Discuss:
Your actual parts: substrates, dimensions, edges, and recessed profiles.
Your finish requirements: color, appearance, film build, and end-use performance.
Your production target: the output you need and where work currently waits.
Your drying process: how parts move toward sanding, recoating, handling, and packing.
Your team’s needs: training, documented procedures, and application support.
The result should be a clearer understanding of how the coating and equipment will work together in your operation.
Explore your finishing process with Superfici America
The collaboration between Envirolak and Superfici America shows what becomes possible when coating knowledge and equipment experience meet at the lab.
For manufacturers evaluating waterborne coatings, automated spraying, or drying improvements, testing provides an opportunity to see the process, ask practical questions, and develop a more informed starting point.
Contact Superfici America to discuss testing your parts and coatings in our Finishing Lab and explore a process built around your production goals.
Watch the full conversation
Hear Bret Johnson and Envirolak’s Stefan De Santis share lessons from their lab testing, discuss the move toward waterborne coatings, and explore what woodworking manufacturers should consider before automating their finishing process.
Frequently asked questions
Why should coating manufacturers work with automated spray equipment manufacturers?
Working together allows both teams to evaluate coating application, coverage, drying, and curing on the equipment. Joint testing can produce documented procedures and give coating representatives more practical knowledge to support customers.
Can waterborne wood coatings be applied with automated spray equipment?
Yes. In the episode, Envirolak and Superfici America discuss running waterborne coating systems with automation. Application settings and drying conditions need to suit the specific coating, substrate, part geometry, and required finish.
Can automated spray equipment apply stain to shaker cabinet doors?
Yes. The episode includes spray-stained shaker door samples with recessed profiles. Bret and Stefan emphasize that successful results depend on both equipment adjustments and a stain formulation suited to the application.
Can drying equipment help reduce congestion in a finishing department?
It can, when drying is the bottleneck. Reducing the time parts spend waiting on racks can help free floor space and move work toward the next production step. The appropriate drying process depends on the coating system and production requirements.
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