Wipe on Poly

[Ricc Havens]

I see Minwax makes an acrylic water based wipe on poly. But it's only showing available as a satin. I'm looking for semi or gloss. Has anyone used it and if so what are your thoughts? I have used their regular solvent based wipe on poly in the past but it adds a slight amber tint. I have some silver maple and regular oil based wipe on poly seems to darken and muddy the color some. I want to keep the wood whiter/brighter.

Does anyone else make an clear acrylic wipe on poly that won't add an amber tint?

 

[John Hicks]

I think only water based poly would not darken the wood. Oil based products tend to darken the wood.

 

[Brian Gustin]

I have used Minniwax Polycrylic in gloss, which is water based, and to make it a wipe-on poly, I would think all you have to do is thin it with more water

(Same as I will do with regular oil based poly - I can thin it with mineral spirits to make a wipe-on poly that goes on easily and dries very fast, but requires multiple coats for a good luster..)

I got it originally BECAUSE I wanted to not darken my oak wood project, and found it did work fairly well for that.. but it did require quite a bit more sanding as the water raised the grain quite a lot so I had to re-sand everything (Tedious when the project was fully assembled.) - so I learned to raise the grain on the wood with a water wipe-down and then sand before assembly, so the subsequent water base poly coats went on nicely and did not need all that sanding....

 

[Vincent Vogel]

I used Minwax polycrylic in satin and made a wipe on water poly by thinning it with water, doesn't take much water so go gently. You can also buy it in matte and flat. As Brian said it raised the grain of the wood. I used it on an apple bowl and wanted the wood to stay white. It did change the color a little but not much. I used three coats and it did a nice job, sanded with 320 between first and second coat and sanded 400 between second and third coat.

 

[Doug Freeman]

Minwax does have a wb poly in gloss and sg, https://www.minwax.com/en/products/protective-finishes

For a wipe on, it would be best to use an extender (increases open time). General Finishes and Target Coatings have extender products, no idea how they would work with other mfr finishes.

Another product to consider for a water clear finish is Parfix 3408, a thin longer open time ca glue, no smoking or smell. Mark Silay has some videos on utube on how to use it. Good for pieces up to ~6”x6”.

 

[Ricc Havens]

I used Minwax polycrylic in satin and made a wipe on water poly by thinning it with water, doesn't take much water so go gently. You can also buy it in matte and flat. As Brian said it raised the grain of the wood. I used it on an apple bowl and wanted the wood to stay white. It did change the color a little but not much. I used three coats and it did a nice job, sanded with 320 between first and second coat and sanded 400 between second and third coat.

Vincent -- do you have a recommendation for thinning ratio? - 5%, 10%, etc?

Doug - I know that Minwax has the polycrilic in gloss and semi. Thanks for the info on extenders the other companies have. Not sure I want to mess yet with the cost of buying the different products and finding out they don't work together. I have seen other mentions Parfix but on my case the piece is going to be around 12" X 7" so it will be bigger than the 6"x6".

 

[Vincent Vogel]

Vincent -- do you have a recommendation for thinning ratio? - 5%, 10%, etc?

Doug - I know that Minwax has the polycrilic in gloss and semi. Thanks for the info on extenders the other companies have. Not sure I want to mess yet with the cost of buying the different products and finding out they don't work together. I have seen other mentions Parfix but on my case the piece is going to be around 12" X 7" so it will be bigger than the 6"x6".

Ricc, I didn't measure but I would start at 5% and go from there, usually for spraying it's recomended to use 10%. Use a piece of scrap to test it out. I mixed it in a paper cup and applied with an old tee shirt rag. I just mixed enough to do one coat at a time meaning I made three mixes for the project.

 

[Dean Center]

I used Polycrylic a few times years ago and it definitely doesn't cause yellowing. To my eye there just seemed to be something not quite right about the finish--like there was something between me and the wood, slightly off color, with a cold, blue-white, artificial quality. Not the warm, approachable, natural look that I prefer. I'd suggest you try it on something unimportant to see how it looks to you before using on something you really care about.

 

[Doug Freeman]

Doug - I know that Minwax has the polycrilic in gloss and semi.

My intention was for you to see the mw “one coat polyurethane”. I tried polycrylic years ago, IMO mostly useless. The one coat is a different product. Havent tried it, just showing another water clear mw product you could research and possibly try.

 

[Ricc Havens]

Thanks Doug, Dean, and Vincent for your recent input! And Brian and John for your earlier input!

 

[Sarah S Elkind]

Ack! I lost my mind and put a coat of Minwax Wipe-on Polyurethane on top a Mahoney oil finish on a cherry bowl I’m super proud of. Seeking suggestions for what to do now to get a good, even finish. Thanks in advance.

 

[Dean Center]

Sarah, I'd suggest starting a new thread rather than adding to an old one. Some folks with helpful responses may not look at it as it's older, or realize the specific question you have.

 

[hughie]

Wipe on Poly can readily be buffed up to a gloss finish. I do this often as I dont really like the look of most gloss finishes as they appear plastic to me. So what I do is use 2-3 coats of satin and allow it to go hard which depending on the weather 2-3 days on warm to hot days. Then buff it, it will buff up to whatever degree of gloss you want

 

[Richard Coers]

Wipe on Poly can readily be buffed up to a gloss finish. I do this often as I dont really like the look of most gloss finishes as they appear plastic to me. So what I do is use 2-3 coats of satin and allow it to go hard which depending on the weather 2-3 days on warm to hot days. Then buff it, it will buff up to whatever degree of gloss you want

That surprises me. To get a satin finish, they add a flattening agent to the liquid so it won't reflect light. Not doubting you do it, just surprises me. Thickness of the coats can greatly increase curing time in the winter!

 

[Doug Freeman]

That surprises me. To get a satin finish, they add a flattening agent to the liquid so it won't reflect light.

Buffing compound reduces the krinkling, and was fills in the small negative areas in the cured surface. Not quite as glossy as gloss, but it works. I use semi gloss. A big advantage vs gloss - the negative areas are muted (like a natural edge) and don’t gloss, which looks a lot less “plasticky”.

 

[hughie]

That surprises me. To get a satin finish, they add a flattening agent to the liquid so it won't reflect light. Not doubting you do it, just surprises me. Thickness of the coats can greatly increase curing time in the winter!

actually, my avatar was done in satin W.O.P.

 

[John Tisdale]

Why use a "wipe-on" poly rather than a tung-oil or tung oil mix?

 

[Randy Heinemann]

While I realize the OP does not want to darken or "yellow" the wood, I have never been satisfied with water based poly on bowls. It just doesn't bring out the true nature of the grain of the wood and, for bowls, that really is the ultimate goal unless you're painting them. I think that water based poly sometimes works as a final coat over oil-based as a final protective coat.

 

[Matt Meadows]

I would go with a spray lacquer if I didn't want to darken the wood. It will provide good color pop and tends to yellow a small amount over the years but not much.

I'm a cabinet finisher by trade. I have yet to see a water-based product that gives the nice color that solvent base and oil base products do.

 

[Doug Freeman]

I would go with a spray lacquer if I didn't want to darken the wood. It will provide good color pop and tends to yellow a small amount over the years but not much.

Sherwin Williams has a solvent based CAB lacquer that does not yellow

Why use a "wipe-on" poly rather than a tung-oil or tung oil mix?

Dries much faster, cheaper, more readily available, looks the same (if excess is wiped off).

 

[Doug Drury]

Yes, the water based wipe on poly can give a plastic look, but I find that is if you put on the poly and then do nothing else to it. I put on 4 coats of poly and then let it harden (I wait a week or more) and then wet sand/polish, starting with 600 and work up to 12,000. With the west sand/polish treatment that plastic look goes away and you get a real nice shine. If you want a real deep gloss put on 8-12 coats of poly, and then after sanding/polishing to 12,000, you can really finish it off with Zona paper and then buff with Hutt's plastic polish.