Anyone using minwax wipe on poly as the resin component for an oil / resin finish?

[David Kuzdrall]

I have some BLO left over from some other projects but ran out of the difficult to find resin (Pratt and lambert no. 38). Has anyone had luck using the minwax wipe on poly as the resin component of a BLO / resin mix?

I will be finishing a walnut dresser soon and would like to mix the wipe on poly with my BLO, any issues here?

Thx

[Scott Holmes]

I prefer the term oil/varnish blend since once the resin and oil has been "ccoked" to produce varnish neither are identifiable as such. The new molecule is varnish.

Poly wipe-on having already been mixed with mineral spirits (MS) can be mixed with an oil to produce an oil/varnish blend. It will be a bit heavy on the MS and a bit light on the varnish because most pre-mixed wipe-ons are more than 50% MS. Generally an oil/varnish blend is equal amounts of oil, varnish and MS.


FYI polyurethane varnish molecules are larger than both alkyd resin/soya oil varnish and phenolic resin/tung oil varnish molecules. MS is a thinner, not a solvent; so it only gets the larger poly molcecules further apart, not smaller.

[David Kuzdrall]

Scott, do you think the polymer is the same in their fast drying poly just with the addition of mineral spirits? If so it might be more useful to get the more concentrated resin vs. the wipe on forumla...

Thx

[Scott Holmes]

Since Minwax doesn't make a non ply varnish I suspect they use the same varnish for their wipe-on. I wouldn't use poly; that's a personal preference. You would have a quicker build with less MS in it. The molecules are still larger than other varnishes, so it can't penetrate as deeply... thinning doesn't make the molecules smaller, only further apart.

[David Kuzdrall]

I never have used poly before, so I figured I would give it a try. I usually use waterlox original, but it takes too long to cure so I wanted to do something that would dry and cure fast for the dresser.

What is your preference for finishing of not poly...perhaps I should hunt around for more of the alkyd Pratt and lambert?




Since Minwax doesn't make a non ply varnish I suspect they use the same varnish for their wipe-on. I wouldn't use poly; that's a personal preference. You would have a quicker build with less MS in it. The molecules are still larger than other varnishes, so it can't penetrate as deeply... thinning doesn't make the molecules smaller, only further apart.

[David Kuzdrall]

Good news; I found some P&L no. 38 gloss so I am back to a known formula for me!


I never have used poly before, so I figured I would give it a try. I usually use waterlox original, but it takes too long to cure so I wanted to do something that would dry and cure fast for the dresser.

What is your preference for finishing of not poly...perhaps I should hunt around for more of the alkyd Pratt and lambert?

[Rich Engelhardt]

Lucky....
Just finding a lot of the materials these days amounts to a gloat.

Ohio is getting to be pretty "oiless" any more.