Minwax: fluke or just "lucky"

[MMark]

Okay, I just got bit for the second time and I was wondering if this is a fluke or something that happens often enough that it should be planned for.

Twice I've bought Minwax Helmsman finish, gotten it home, applied it to a wood project only to discover the can was mislabeled. Specifically I bought satin and what was in the can was semi gloss or gloss.

It's a royal pain to correct. Seems to me that you pretty much have to sand back down to wood and start over with the staining.

Was I just unlucky to get mislabeled product from them twice (not sequentially)? Should I always do a couple of test runs on scrap wood and expect a couple return trips to the hardware store first?

Thanks Mark

[chaniarts]

fine steel wool

what did minwax say when you called them using the 800 # on the can?

[MMark]

Fine steel wool? Really? Does that just take off the finish without doing too much damage to the stain?

Would not have thought of that...

Just sent them a note on their website; haven't heard back yet.

[hrhofmann]

Just give it a clear coat of whatever gloss /nongloss varnish youwant it to look like.

[cycjec]

the test piece sounds like a good idea.

[Shaun Eli]

If you put a couple of coats of satin over gloss, it'll look satiny.

[Baron]

Sounds like the flatting agent settled out. It must be mixed in and that takes more effort than you might think. I find I must really dig down to lift the agent into the fluid before mixing.

Good Luck.

[gregz]

My experience with polyurethane, mixing is very important. The top fluid is different from bottom fluid. The top may be slower drying producing gloss.

Greg

[MMark]

Well now there's egg on my face (or maybe unmixed satin finish). After Greg and Baron's responses, I went down and gave the can one of those paint-store shakes and did a test patch. It came out as expected.

I didn't expect the satin finish to be that dependent on a thorough mixing beforehand.

Thanks for the insight.