Poly Beading Up

[Don]

Great group with alot of good info....thx guys! Ok...heres where I am at. After sanding coffee table top made of white oak down to bare wood I stained the piece with Red Mahogany oil base Minwax Stain. It seamed to look a little blotchy so I applied Minwax Wood Conditioner after resanding. After 3 coats of stain to get the shade I wanted, I applied

3 to 4 coats of Minwax Oil base semi-gloss poly cut 50/50 with paint thinner made with mineral spirits using the wipe-on method. I did this w/o sanding between coats. I then lightly sanded with 220 grit. Now after applying another coat of cut poly the stuff wont level. It looks as if there is a coat of Schotchguard under the poly and its beading up. Is it possible that I sanded too soon and clogged the wood pores? I want to add about 6 more coats to get a durable hard finish. Many Thanks!!!....Don

[Rumpty]

The "oil" in the stain has beaded up and caused your problem. Let your poly dry and sand with 220/330 until flat and give it a light coat of finish.

[Nova]

If you reread Don's post he has already applied 3 to 4 coats of oil based poly over the stain without a problem. It was only after sanding that he's having and adhesion problem. As I stated before I suspect Don's using a sandpaper with a stearate coating and the stearate is causing the problem.

-- Jack Novak Buffalo, NY - USA (Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)

[Leon]

I do not have a good answer but it seems that when ever some one is having a problem with a finish, it is a Minwax product. I washed my hands of the brand many years ago.

[Ba r r y]

I normally avoid them as well, but remember one fact:

Minwax is $_cheap_$, usually the only brand newbies know, and it's in every BORG and *-Mart. Minwax also spends amazing amounts of coin on sponsorships and advertising for DIY shows and magazines. However, with some skill and luck, decent results can be obtained that make plenty of average folks happy.

Ride around with a real estate agent some day and see plenty of Minwax stuff applied without skill, by DIY'ers AND pros! "When Plumbers Finish Wood, Film at 11!"

I think of Minwax as the Craftsman or Black and Decker of finishing products.

What's interesting is what happens when you show the folks happy with a decent Minwax finish, a Behlen's, Mohawk, Waterlox, or any other upscale finish. I installed a rubbed lacquer bookcase in a brand new addition that now has the homeowner ripping all of the 3 month old trim and doors out!

If BORGs sold Behlen's we'd see plenty of F'd up work coated with their products.

Barry

[Larry Jaques]

On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 13:32:07 GMT, Ba r r y calmly ranted:

ROTFLSHIAPMP! Ayup, that's what I think of when I see "minwhacked" mentioned. Go Plumbers!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - If God approved of nudity, we all would have been born naked. ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Your Wild & Woody Website Wonk

[toller]

I just exactly the same thing happen, only it was with Minwax wipe-on. I "think" maybe I should have waited longer before sanding (actually steel-wooling). Still, it could be what the man said about Minwax.

[Rumpty]

If he didn't let the stain dry properly before poly it could be a problem. Part of his problem IMHO is that he wants 6 or so coats for a durable finish. That only complicates the problem. I use stearate coated paper between coat using water based finishes and don't have a problem so I doubt the stearates are causing a problem.

[Baron]

What you describe sounds like a contamination problem.

Minwax Red Mahogany has slightly different instructions on the can from their other stains. For example, there is something in it that tends to make it either bleed or interferes with the curing of Minwax's Polycrylic finish. I'm sure the stain is the cause of all sorts of problems except in the most simple of finishing schedules.

Applying Minwax Wood Conditioner, essentially thinned boiled linseed oil, after staining isn't a great idea but I don't think it hurt. It basically added a lot of oil to the schedule. This would be an issue except you stated that you applied three or four coats of thinned polyurethane as a wiping poly without any problems.

Since you only had a problem after sanding, it is likely that the contamination either came in with the 220 grit paper or you cut through enough of the finish that a contaminant trapped under at least one layer of poly came through. Could you have used a stearated paper and not cleaned as thoroughly as possible?

Assuming you can not remove the contamination by wiping down repeatedly with mineral spirits and clean cloths or with a dilute ammonia solution, you will probably have to add some fish eye destroyer to your last coat of poly. This will equalize the surface tension and enable it to stick.

Good Luck.