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Staining Wood and finishing with Polyurethane.


Audio Android

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I'm trying for the life of me to put down a great polyurethane finish (Miniwax fast-drying clear gloss) on some wood. It's a lazy susan/sculpting turntable I'm making. I want it as shiny and smooth as possible.....But I'm getting these little $#%@#$% bubbles in the paint. I have great brushes and am taking the slowest strokes possible to try and get a good coat but it is just NOT WORKING. I'm sanding, I'm taking my time, I'm trying different brushes and different techniques. Like trying to get as much poly off the brush before applying, because as soon as I dip the brush in the poly I can see bubbles form in the bristles, so i get all those out and it still lays down these tiny @#%$@ bubbles. Then I put a $#!t load of poly on the brush and that helps but then it's almost impossible to get an even coat throughout. I used foam brushes first then a cheap bristle brush then I just paid $15 for a 2inch brush and it ain't workin'. I'll try to get some pictures up later.........I just want to know if anybody has used this stuff before? Do you know how to properly apply it?.....Or if you know how to get a super glossy finish with a different product........THANK YOU!! :wacko2:

Edited by Audio Android
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I kind of just went through the same thing so I can tell you what helped me alot.

I was using marine spar varnish on a bar which was many square feet, and it dries even faster than Poly so this should help. I used marine spar varnish because the bar is outdoors and poly can not take sunlight and big temp changes, but poly will give the same gloss.

I put the varnish on quickly with the brush in sections and used one of those cheap 3'' foam brushes and just slowly passed it over where the varnish was just applied, just lightly dragging with the brush. What this does is smooth out the varnish and remove all the bubbles. It worked great , the brush size you use may be different considering the size of the piece and they are dirt cheap.

It's the cheap foam brushes that have a point on the end, hold at an angle and just drag without pressure and it removes all the bubbles, it really works, varnished a bar top with 6-8 coats (lost track) that is over 40 sq feet counting the back part of the bar and no bubbles.

post-9700-0-79540000-1397063410_thumb.jp

Edited by dtel
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I kind of just went through the same thing so I can tell you what helped me alot.

I was using marine spar varnish on a bar which was many square feet, and it dries even faster than Poly so this should help. I used marine spar varnish because the bar is outdoors and poly can not take sunlight and big temp changes, but poly will give the same gloss.

I put the varnish on quickly with the brush in sections and used one of those cheap 3'' foam brushes and just slowly passed it over where the varnish was just applied, just lightly dragging with the brush. What this does is smooth out the varnish and remove all the bubbles. It worked great , the brush size you use may be different considering the size of the piece and they are dirt cheap.

It's the cheap foam brushes that have a point on the end, hold at an angle and just drag without pressure and it removes all the bubbles, it really works, varnished a bar top with 6-8 coats (lost track) that is over 40 sq feet counting the back part of the bar and no bubbles.

That looks awesome! Did you build that Dtel?

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Yea I built it, it didn't start out to be like it is, it started out to be just a place to sit in the shade. We redid the garden and thought it would be nice to have someplace to sit out of the sun and if we wanted to have parties other than inside. As is was being built one of the grandkids thought we should make it a tiki bar and everyone liked the idea so it went somewhat in that direction.

That's why I needed spar varnish being it's somewhat exposed to the weather. Being this is a speaker forum and had an old rough pair of Heresy's they got mounted in the ceiling out there, we tend to spend a lot of time out there. Very comfortable, I listen a lot out there lying in a hammock, it's hard to beat for relaxing.

I don't want to clog up his thread this is the back of the bar, the varnish has held up well so far, it's the first time I had used it, when things get spilled, it just wipes off easily, like it's plastic coated. The bamboo looking stuff is not spar varnish.

post-9700-0-15700000-1397069737_thumb.jp

Edited by dtel
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Spar varnish is a great product but the strong fumes always give me a headache.

I was glad to do it outside, it wasn't to bad at all out there. Thinking about doing the other table tops out there and thought about redoing our kitchen table at the same time. If I do I will bring the table outside to do it for sure.

One thing I like about the spar varnish was it dries fast, paint today and sand in the morning and repaint, one coat a day helps speed things up when you want to do a bunch of coats. I used Captains Varnish made by Pettit, this is a good article about finishing in this link, I followed his advice about sealer coats and varnish coats and was happy with the results.

http://www.woodworking.com/ww/Article/All-About-Oil-Based-Varnish-7519.aspx

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I am new to the refinish game as well, and after my staining which I am doing today, I will be applying poly as well. I was told that the poly needs to be stirred, not shaken due to bubbles.

And my question is, you used a "quick dry" poly. Would the poly with the standard drying time make any difference? I don't know that answer, that is just me thinking out loud.

My last question, how many coats of poly are you going to use?

+++

In any case, please check back in here with your solution so I can follow what you did that worked. I'm not making a move until I see how your bubble issue gets resolved. You can believe me when I say, good luck! :)

Edited by wvu80
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And my question is, you used a "quick dry" poly. Would the poly with the standard drying time make any difference?

That's a good point, I think I remember reading (not sure) if it dries really fast the bubbles don't flow out as easily ? You might be on to something ?

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I use the spray can poly from Minwax all the time over sealer and stain and it works very well except when the humidity is very high, then it fogs but after some drying time it defogs itself. Are you using Minwax stain? If not there might be a compatibility issue.

JJK

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When I built houses, all trim was stained by hand with a rag and poly was put on with foam brushes. As mentioned earlier, the angled edge on the cheap foam brushes works well if lightly pulled across the surface to remove any bubbles.

You can generate bubbles by shaking the poly, getting a lot of movement with you brush(think banging it off the side of the can to remove excess), or if using foam, squishing it against the side of your can. It will transfer to your work piece.

Lightly sand in between coats too.

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horsehair paint brushes
The brush that I bought was a Purdy XL Cub Nylon/Polyester....I was actually looking for a natural hair brush but they didn't have any........I'm pretty sure most of the problem is the brush, but I may be wrong.....The next brush I get will be the softest I can find...And the explanation next to your recommended brush is that it's the softest one Purdy makes.... :emotion-21:.....Thanks Jason
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DTEL That table is great!!!....please don't be afraid to keep the pictures coming, It's much cooler than my lazy susan... :sleep:....I did try the foam brushes first and they produced the worst of the bubbles, but at the time I was using pretty fast strokes. I still have some foam brushes left so I may try those again....Ryanm84 also recommends the foam so I must be doing something wrong.....Thank you.

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the poly needs to be stirred, not shaken due to bubbles.
Yes it bubbles very easily, I never shook the poly, just stir.
Would the poly with the standard drying time make any difference?
It probably does react a little different but I can't answer that....The only thing I have used is this MiniWax Quick-dry clear gloss.
how many coats of poly are you going to use?
I have seriously lost count but i think i'm on my sixth, and here comes number seven..... :blink:
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If you try the foam brush again drag it slow without any pressure at all just leave it sit and drag, I put the varnish on with the brush and the foam was just wet as to not leave runs or pick up to much varnish. I could not get it without bubbles with just the brush no matter how I tried.

That bar is 16' around the outside (where you would sit) and a little less on the back lower level and over 2' deep and I would put a coat on both it in about 30 min at the most.

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If you try the foam brush again drag it slow without any pressure at all just leave it sit and drag, I put the varnish on with the brush and the foam was just wet as to not leave runs or pick up to much varnish. I could not get it without bubbles with just the brush no matter how I tried.
Thanks Dtel, I will try the foam again....Sanding as we speak. I'll show the progress tomorrow as I won't be able to paint till later tonight.
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Could be the pictures but those bubbles look like you've got too much poly going on in one coat. When I've seen bubbles because of shaking the poly or what not, we're talking a bunch of tiny bubbles. I don't typically see them that get to be that big. And I would also think that 7 coats of poly is too many. I have matching end tables that I built and they have 2 light coats on the legs and drawer fronts, 3 light coats on the table tops and they look fine and have held up for 4 years with 2 kids dropping stuff on them all the time.

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