Pratt&Lambert #38 Satin Problems

[Micheal Roth]

I am currently refinishing a dining room table. The tabletop is made from laminated pine ( butcher block pattern). I sanded the top down to bare wood then applied a minwax preconditioner followed by an oil based stain. The top stained very nicely. After drying I applied 2 coats of #38 gloss sanding in between coats with 320 sandpaper with excellent results. It had a nice smooth glass like look. Next I applied a coat of#38 satin. After drying the satin had a streaky appearance as if the satin varnish didn't level out before it had dried. After drying I sanded the surface back to being level and reapplied the #38 satin in a 50/50 version of varnish and mineral spirits to slow the cure time to let it level out. The surface is better but there is still a few areas that are streaky. I let this dry and sanded back again with 320 grit to level it back out which it looks better still. I would like to try another wipe on coat of satin but I'm afraid i'll get the steaky effect again. Has anyone else seen this using the #38 satin product. I have used other satin varnishes without any issues. Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated. Thnx in advance..... Mike

[Todd Burch]

I brush my #38 satin on. Never tried wiping.

The only issue I've had with P&L is using too old of a product. In these cases, the initial coats don't dry like they should and stay a bit sticky and produce a lot of korning.

Are you working with a good raking light? Is your satin stirred well?

[Bill Neely]

It sounds like the flatting agents aren't thoroughly mixed, even if you gave it a good mix to begin with it's possible you need to stir frequently while you are applying the finish. Just guessing because I've never used a flattened version of P&L 38.

[Howard Acheson]

Does your "streaking" look like a white cloudy area? If so, it sounds like you did not thoroughly re-stir the flatters in the satin finish back into suspension. Non-gloss finish should be stirred 100 strokes in one direction and then 100 strokes in the other keeping the stirrer in contact with the bottom of the can. Re-stir every 5-10 minutes during application. This re-stirring is particularly important when using a wipe-on finish. When thinned, the flatters will drop out of suspension quite quickly.

The solution is to let the finish you already applied fully dry. Then lightly scuff sand. Buy a new can of finish as the one you have will not have the correct amount of flatters in it. Stir as described above and apply a final coat as evenly as you can. The sheen is dependent on the gloss of the final coat.

[Todd Burch]

Hi Michael.

Did you ever resolve the issue?

[Micheal Roth]

I tried sanding the finish back a little with 220 grit sandpaper. I opened a new can of satin P&L #38 and brushed on with the same results. Product was well stirred and applied with a china bristle brush. This is the first table top I've ever done. The streaking may have always been there on smaller projects, as the surface area on this project is quite large. I really don't know. Anyways, I applied 2 more full strength coats on and I'm going to let set for about 3weeks then I'm just going to rub the top out down to maybe 600 grit and see how it goes.
Hi Michael.

Did you ever resolve the issue?

[Ole Anderson]

I have always just wiped mine on after thinning 50/50 with MS. But all of my coats (5) are satin, I don't bother with gloss first. And I don't sand between coats, just after the last one using 400 grit which matches the satin sheen. The dust nibs in a wiped on finish are less of a problem than with a full thick coat of varnish, so less sanding is needed to get that baby butt feel.