What happened to my Waterlox finish??

[Sean Leonard]

This is my first experience with Waterlox. I'm using the marine varnish on a piece of red cedar for an outdoor counter and bar top. Followed the directions and used the marine sealer first, let it dry for 24hrs with adequate ventilation using a couple of medium-size floor fans on low speed inside a large shop (insulated 50x60 with 22 ft peak roof, air conditioned to 77-80 degrees, 50% RH indoors).

First coat of the Waterlox marine varnish went on fine, although I wish I would have used a natural bristle brush and not the foam brush. Seems like I introduced too many bubbles as I brushed it on, but most of them seem to have worked themselves out. I waited the 24 hours for the second coat.

Second coat went on fine, although it was probably a little thicker than the first. Not sure why it felt like it was harder to apply this second coat than it was the first, but I pressed on. Since this coat felt like it was thicker I figured it needed much more time to cure before continuing with coats 3 and 4.

36 hours later I wanted to check on the progress and I found that three sections of the counters have these soft ripples in the finish. The rest of the areas seem to have cured hard enough to proceed with finishing but obviously with these sections I can't continue. I don't know what might have happened, or what needs to be done to correct this problem. I'm located about 40 miles northwest of Houston where humidity outdoors this week has been exceptionally high in the evenings when I applied the finish (70-90%), but indoors it was maintained between 60-70%. High still, but probably in line for indoors down here.

Looking for suggestions on what to do to fix this problem. I've seen all the posts about why people don't like Waterlox for the looooong cure times and what not. If we're talking about a complete strip down and do-over, is there another product that would be recommended for an outdoor wood counter top? Something like GF Outdoor Oil?

Thanks.

Waterlox 1.jpg

Waterlox 2.jpg

[matt romanowski]

Those look like there was some surface contamination and the finish is cracked or bubbled. You probably need to sand it off in hose areas and start over.

[Stan Calow]

I had this effect the first time I used Waterlox (the original version). I had brushed it on like I normally did with poly. It was suggested to me that Waterlox was more like a wiping varnish and needed very thin coats. I've applied it with cloths since.

[Sean Leonard]

Yes, I suspect the coats were too heavy.

I ended up stripping it down to bare wood and will use two coats of West Systems 105/207 epoxy, and then a couple of thinned coats of Epifanes clear varnish after the epoxy cures hard. I no longer have the time to wait 24+ hours between 5+ coats of the Waterlox. This counter will be outdoors, but in 100% full shade.

[Dave Sabo]

yup - applied waaaaaay to thick.

[Alan Lightstone]

Been there, done that.

Too thick.

[Prashun Patel]

I've brushed on Waterlox Marine finish before. It's a wiping varnish consistency, but it brushes very well too. This is all just my own theory:

I suspect you applied too thick of a first coat. This can sometimes lead to solvent being trapped as the top layer skin over. 9x out of 10 this is not an issue; if you let the coat dry thoroughly and slowly, the solvent can often escape through that semi-hard coat without compromising the film. But when you apply a second, thick coat, trapped solvent in the first coat will migrate into the top layer and slow the drying of the second coat underneath, while the top layer skins over again; the problem compounds with each layer. Eventually you start getting ripples and buckles when there's too much solvent to escape slowly and gracefully.

Wiping varnishes have a greater proportion of solvent than brushing varnishes. Maybe there is a risk of trapping solvent by brushing this kind of product?

Your heat and humidity probably didn't help; these things accelerate surface hardening and inhibit even drying through the film. And if the piece underwent any rapid heating in the day, it could cause the solvent to evaporate later too aggressively through the skin.

"Why I felt this was harder to apply" - This is probably because the first coat was not fully dry. A softer finish creates drag on the rag or the brush. It's always my cue to wait a few more hours (when wiping) or another day (when brushing).

You'll notice the same with Epifanes if you do not let it dry thoroughly between coats. You might consider using the marine varnish after all; over an epoxy sealed surface, a few wiped coats of the MV would be my vote as the easier of the two to apply. Further, it will be an easier refresh regimen every couple years if you need it.

In the future, if you brush on Waterlox OSF or marine varnish, keep it well away from the heat and minimize air blowing over the surface.

[Bill McNiel]

I use Waterlox alot and Prashun's comments are dead on (IMHO).