Time to Refinish My Coffee Table

[Harvey Pascoe]

I made it twenty years ago of figured maple and finished with brush on poly, then sanded and rubbed out. In that time it has really taken a beating and the poly now has lots of abrasions (not deep scratches) in it. Rather than dragging it out in the shop, sanding and respraying it I was thinking of doing it in place, spreading a drop cloth, wet sanding the top and applying a wipe on.

The rub is (pun possibly intended) is that I've never used wipe on for a table top B4. The table is 3 x 5 and is exposed to bright light from floor to ceiling windows so anything less than a perfect finish will be painfully obvious via reflected light off the surface. So, my question is, what kind of finish can I expect with this method vs a spray or brush on?

[Jim Rimmer]

I have not sprayed but the wipe on finish will be significantly better than brush on (at least my brush ons). I start with a 50/50 dilution of mineral spirits for the first two coats and then closer to 3 parts poly to 1 ms for the last couple of coats. Others may tell you different dilutions but this works for me. YMMV.

[John TenEyck]

Arm-R-Seal wipe-on works great for me, but it sets up quickly and start to streak if you work it too much. I get good results on large pieces by wiping with a well loaded rag as quickly as possible, and then going over the surface with a dry foam brush, brushing from center to end. Don't keep working it, just a get it on and brush it once to eliminate any streaks and then leave it be.

[Prashun Patel]

Since the top has already been sealed and grainfilled and built up, after cleaning and wetsanding, you should be left with a really nice, level surface. So, it should only take a few wipe on coats to get great results.

I thin my poly back 50/50 if using gloss or semigloss. I get my best results when I'm patient and don't try to 'lay' on the poly/varnish with a rag; I think of it more like wiping down a counter: think 'quick and slick': be quick, and leave the surface slick, not wet.

After 3-4 coats this way, you should have a very even sheen with a surface that you might not even need to rub out.

I have no problem with Minwax poly.

[Harvey Pascoe]

Minwax poly is what is now on there. The table is high gloss so will the wipe on end up with the same gloss, or will I have to rub it out?

I don't know about you but if I thin any varnish with that much solvent, I end up with solvent blushing or a non gloss finish.

[Prashun Patel]

The wipe on gloss will likely be even MORE glossy than your current finish, since the current finish has had years of natural rubbing down. How much do you thin and what do you thin with? You know yr stuff way better than I do, but I use plain 'ol Mineral spirits and thin between 25% and 50% I don't get blushing with these ranges - even with semigloss - but I've been wiping on THIN. When super thin, there's hardly any skin to trap any solvent or moisture, and it can escape.

[Harvey Pascoe]

Sorry, I've been away for a few days.

I haven't done wipe on for a very long time so I don't even remember what its like except for the streaking. I probably did NOT thin it. So apparently the deal is that I need to experiment with different ratios until it looks right? That said because most varnish products respond to thinning differently.