I am curious about what people's favorite brand of poly is? I have used Minwax satin, but I don't care for the finish. About 10 years ago, I did some kitchen cabinets with a real nice poly, but I don't remember the brand. Maybe Carver Tripp?
Anyway, recommendations would be appreciated.
I've used General for several projects and like it very much. It flows easily, builds well and takes a nice shine. You can use it as a (recommended) wiping poly or brush it on for a fast build, which I do in hidden areas. It's available at Rockler, Woodcraft, and a number of mail-order houses. Be sure to use it with a good brush.
Bob
ACE Brand coatings are superior to anything else I have ever used. This includes marine arnish for outdoor use, deck and sidng stains, both transparent and opaque, floor coatings, wall primers and paints.
I've used General for several projects and like it very much. It flows
I have been using General Finishes since the late 70" and found out a couple of years that a decent small celled foam brush turns out stunning results.
I've also used a number of ACE finishes both for wood and for metal and find it to be a great value. I would not call it superior to name brands in my experience, but it's certainly a better value. Seems every bit as capable as the name brands in standing up over time and is always much cheaper. I wouldn't use ACE paints to paint a car, but I sure use a lot of their stuff for other work.
Waterlox.
Barry
I use oil-based polyurethane, cuz its usually going on over an oil-based stain. And I like a _flat_ (*NOT* 'satin', or even 'matte') layer for the final coat (over several coats of the much harder high-gloss).
Polyurethane in a true 'flat' lustre is *hard* to find these days. Benjamin Moore, and ZAR are the _only_ brands I've been able to locate. Both are 'good stuff'. Retail around $45/gallon, 20% less at commercial supply houses.
Note: The flat lustre eliminates any question of a 'plastic-y' appearance of the polyurethane. At a distance of several feet, you "can't tell" it's there, at all.
Sounds like the look I am going for on my interior doors. I'll head to the B Moore store this week.
Be advised, you'll have to _insist_ on exactly what you want. Hardly anybody stocks the flat, and they usually have trouble even finding it in the master price list. Make 'em keep looking! I don't have the part number handy -- What I've got on hand at the moment is the ZAR -- the distributor didn't have enough Moore in stock, and it was going to be most of a week for arrival. So, I got the in-stock ZAR.
Note: repeating -- the flat poly *is* comparatively soft. You want to put on several coats (I do at least 3) of hi-gloss first, and then *one* coat of flat.
Got it. I'll call first. Any reason why I can't use a cheaper high-gloss poly such as Minwax under the B Moore flat, or do I need Moore HG poly?
Authoritative answer: "I dunno."
I've always used the same brand -- that way I _know_ there won't be any problems.
My _uneducated_ guess is that it probably would =not= be a problem. On the other hand, problems, if they _do_ occur, will, I'm guessing, *NOT* manifest themselves immediately. Ask me 5 years after I make up a test piece, and I'll give you an 'informed' answer. :)
I'm curious. Why? You just spent 10 or 20 or 40 hours putting a project together, spent $20 to $500 on wood, why are you going to take a risk to save maybe five bucks? Ed
In the meantime, I'll throw out that most compatability problems present themselves quite immediately. If there are no immediate adhesion problems and the underlying wood project does not decay into a pile of goo on the table, then your probably pretty safe. If it does, then consider a liquid molding project...
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