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Thread: wipe on poly,,,need help

  1. #1
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    Jan 2015
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    wipe on poly,,,need help

    i made a very nice night stand and wanted to put a good finish on it,,so i got some minwax wipe on poly and tried it,,it went on easily enough,,but after about 3 coats i wasnt getting any sheen at all,,i was wanting a gloss finish,,so i thought i would try watco wipe on finish and honestly it was so thick it wasnt even funny,,it did have a gloss but so very thick comparing it to minwax,,,im really in left field with this and if anyone could tell me what to do to get a nice even gloss finish i would really appreciate it,,the top was the only part that i put finish on so far,,,thank you every so much,,,,

  2. #2
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    Switching horses is almost never a good idea. I would stick with the Minwax gloss and wipe on more coats. However, now that you are in mid stream I think you are going to have to back up and sand or strip off what's on there now, if not completely then until it's flat, and then go back to the Minwax. Personally, I'd take it back to raw wood.

    Depending upon what the wood is 3 coats may not be nearly enough to seal it and begin to build a film, and until that happens it won't produce a sheen. On well sanded close grain hardwood like cherry 3 coats often is enough, but on poplar it might take 8 or 9.

    John

  3. #3
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    Hiya Jeff....as John said, switching horses is rarely a good idea. I second the idea that you should strip/sand the top and start over with.

    I am not a big fan of Miniwax. I am a General Finishes (Arm R Seal) man myself. With any wipe on product, you are building lots of very thin coats to build up a film. With any wiping finish, I don't bother to do a first light sanding until I have 3 coats on and generally expect to do 5-6 coats. Often, you will not start to see the "finish" until coat 4 or 5.

    Matt Cremona on youtube has a good video on how he does wiping finishes.

    Also, remember high gloss finishes can be frustrating. They will highlight ever imperfection in the finish and in the wood.

    Good luck

  4. #4
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    With most wipe on finishes, you'll need to get to about 12 applications before you approach the coating of two or three brushed on coats. Until you start to build the film, the sheen isn't going to be very glossy.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  5. #5
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    The Minwax stuff in the black and gold can is THIN, THIN, THIN and will take a lot of coats. Last time I used it was on some lathe work so it wasn't a big deal to get 8 or 10 coats on a small piece. Works, just need a lot of coats.

    The Arm-R-Seal is much more bodied for a wiping varnish and should build faster. On maple shelves it took 4 or 5 coats to get to gloss then scuffed back and waxed because I like the look and feel. (Don't judge!)

    Side note, for stuff that I want to have a nice satin sheen and will benefit from some color enhancement of an oil finish I've found the Minwax Antique Oil (the red can) to be great. It does take at least 6 coats to start to see a semi-gloss like sheen. The Arm-R-Seal seems to impart less color and certainly builds faster, probably a tougher film than the Minwax formulas too.

    The general purpose Minwax wiping varnish is just meh. Probably won't ever bother to replace that can once it is empty.

    And I've made my own with the 1:1:1 mix of BLO, mineral spirits (get the real stuff, not the cloudy white junk) and whatever the cheapest can of full strength oil poly was on the shelf, probably Minwax. Worked fine and I still have the gallon paint can I mixed it in to make a dip-and-dunk finishing station for small wood puzzles. But honestly, per ounce the Antique Oil is cheaper.
    Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.

  6. #6
    I recently mixed up a batch of wipe-on varnish using Minwax satin oil varnish and gum turpentine; 50/50. The gum turpentine, from an old, old can I rescued from my wife's family farm years ago, gave the mixture a wonderful scent. I wiped 8-10 coats on to a bathroom hanging vanity - project for a friend. The mixture went on easy, dried quickly and looked great in the end, but it did take a bunch of coats. I'd wipe a coat on in the morning, then in the evening give the piece a rub down with 0000 synthetic steel wool, wipe on another coat, repeat in the morning for several days until I was satisfied with the results. I stored the rag I used in a plastic sandwich between uses.

  7. #7
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    A lot of woodturners put on several coats of dewaxed shellac before putting on the more resistant wipe on poly for a faster build.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Coers View Post
    A lot of woodturners put on several coats of dewaxed shellac before putting on the more resistant wipe on poly for a faster build.
    Shellac doesn't "build" like varnishes and can be a problem if put on too thick, including cracking/crazing. Best practice for shellac is always "as thin as possible" to get coverage.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Coers View Post
    A lot of woodturners put on several coats of dewaxed shellac before putting on the more resistant wipe on poly for a faster build.
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    Shellac doesn't "build" like varnishes and can be a problem if put on too thick, including cracking/crazing. Best practice for shellac is always "as thin as possible" to get coverage.
    Turners tend to use it like a friction polish so it goes pretty thin.
    Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.

  10. #10
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    The goal of the shellac is to seal the pores so the build of the WOP is more even to start with. I've never had any issues of fresh shellac cracking/crazing, but then again I think it's hard to get it too thick based on the way I mix it. Even with the viscosity that comes in a can, I can't imagine how many coats you would have to put on to make it thick.

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