Varathane polyurethane?

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10-26-2019, 2:19 PM
Ken Fitzgerald

Varathane polyurethane?

Our local HD quit selling Min-Wax products and is selling Varathane products now. Anybody use their products for furniture?

I preferred using HD as a supplier for the Min-Wax products as they had a high enough turnover that I felt buying there gave me a chance of getting a relatively fresh product. I can buy Min-Wax at a local hardware store but I am not confident they sell enough to provide a source of relatively fresh finish?

Anybody successfully using Varathane poly? If so, any tricks or suggestions?
10-26-2019, 3:35 PM
Jamie Buxton

Lowe’s still sells minwax, if you have one of those near you.
10-26-2019, 4:21 PM
Tony Joyce

My local Sherwin Williams carries Min-Wax products(SW owns Min-Wax). That said I've not used the Varathane poly, but I love their gel stains. They work much than Min-Wax gel stains. Local Lowe's carries Min-Wax also.
10-26-2019, 6:17 PM
Ken Fitzgerald

Thanks for the input guys! I'll have to try the local SW stores for the Min-Wax products.

The nearest Lowes is 110 miles away.
10-26-2019, 8:30 PM
Jim Becker

I so rarely use an oil based product, but I did have a project earlier this year where I used the Varathane polyurethane varnish, both brushed on and thinned and wiped on. Worked fine for my application. Honestly, I doubt there's very much difference between the various retail products like that...
10-27-2019, 1:41 AM
Bennett Ostroff

Ken, it looks like there’s an Ace Hardware in your town? All the Aces near me still sell the Minwax oil based poly. I don’t like the Varathane quite as much, but I really like their WB poly.
10-27-2019, 11:55 AM
Edwin Santos

Speaking only for the Varathane water based polyurethane, I think it is excellent.
10-27-2019, 1:30 PM
Dan Gaylin

+1 to Edwin's comment: I have used Varathane water based poly and it is really easy to use and produces a fine result.
10-30-2019, 12:14 PM
Dan Baginski

I think Jim’s right, there is probably no noticeable difference between the two. The ace down the street from me carries minwax. That’s where I got my last container of it.
11-03-2019, 5:48 AM
Ed Gibbons

I am a big fan of Minwax poly acrylics. Not so for Varathane. The only time I used Varathane it stayed milky.
11-03-2019, 7:55 AM
Edward Dyas

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken Fitzgerald

Our local HD quit selling Min-Wax products and is selling Varathane products now. Anybody use their products for furniture?

I preferred using HD as a supplier for the Min-Wax products as they had a high enough turnover that I felt buying there gave me a chance of getting a relatively fresh product. I can buy Min-Wax at a local hardware store but I am not confident they sell enough to provide a source of relatively fresh finish?

Anybody successfully using Varathane poly? If so, any tricks or suggestions?

Actually I have a pretty low opinion of Minwax products. Their stains are prone to fade and the Helmsman spar varnish is one of the worst on the market. I don't use their polyurethane so I can't comment. I have used varathane products over the years and have no complaints.