Varathane polyurethane?

[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?

[Jamie Buxton]

Lowe’s still sells minwax, if you have one of those near you.

[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.

[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.

[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...

[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.

[Edwin Santos]

Speaking only for the Varathane water based polyurethane, I think it is excellent.

[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.

[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.

[Ed Gibbons]

I am a big fan of Minwax poly acrylics. Not so for Varathane. The only time I used Varathane it stayed milky.

[Edward Dyas]

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.