Peeling Poly


jrmvt

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Hey everyone!  First off, I apologize that I never came back here and thanked everyone for the help with the bar I built a few years ago.  I'll throw a picture below - really happy with the way it turned out and appreciate the guidance and suggestions from the group here!

New question - I finished the bar with a topcoat of General Finishes High Performance Poly.  Based upon several recommendations (may not have been here) I sprayed a couple of coats of Gloss and then finally a coat of Semi-Gloss.  It has held up really well except for one area on the bar top where that last coat of Semi-Gloss peeled.  Maybe I didn't scuff the top enough in that section before the final coat.  The spot is also exactly where my son would set his laptop when he was taking his college courses from home because of COVID and I'm wondering if the heat caused an issue.  Whatever the culprit, any suggestions on how to deal with it?  I scraped off what was loose and it does not appear to be spreading any further.    Could I just apply another coat of Semi-Gloss or is it too late for that?  Do I need to strip just the top surface of the whole bar and start over?  I'm really not crazy about disassembling this monster again to take it back out to the shop.  Worse comes to worst, I guess I can just put a bar mat there.  :)

I'll include some photos, but let me know if you have questions or need more info.

Thank you!

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Since there are well-defined boarders to the part that sustained the damage, I feel like you could sand that particular surface and apply a coat to just that surface. I would take care to ensure the entire surface is scuffed well, and the peeled edges are feathered out, but try to avoid sanding completely through. If you hit bare wood in one spot, I'd go to the wood across the entire surface to avoid odd color variations. If that becomes necessary, a card scraper will remove the finish much faster than sandpaper.

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Even without adhesion problems, I have seen this happen less dramatically with a coat of satin or semi-gloss over gloss when that top coat wears over time. This is why I don't like doing that.

I think you would be best advised to lightly sand the entire top and re-coat it. You may find some other areas that are just barely adhering and further scuff sanding may remove it. And this would be a good thing. As said above, be careful you don't sand all the way through, but do it enough that you know the base coats are secure. Then re-coat. I would go back with gloss, but that's just me. It will lose some of the shine as it wears, but you won't get the contrast between gloss and semi-gloss you have now.

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Great suggestions - Thanks!

On the scuffing - I know I'm going to need to be careful not to sand through, but will I need to add some extra umph to get it scuffed sufficiently since the finish has been cured for a couple of years?  I'm concerned under-scuffing is what caused the problem in the first place so I want to be sure I don't mess that up again.  How fine a grit to sand with this time?

Recoat - Since I'm only applying it to a horizontal surface, I was thinking of just using a brush so I don't need to disassemble to get it back outside to spray it on.  I think I will try just the area that has peeled first and see how that turns out.  If I end up needing to recoat the whole top, will adding a coat of Gloss on top really hide the Semi-Gloss underneath it?  I feel like the portion where the Semi-Gloss peeled off would still be noticeable.

On 5/17/2023 at 7:55 AM, wtnhighlander said:

and the peeled edges are feathered out

Can you give me a little more detail on what you mean by this?

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Use a very fine grit (at least 220 maybe 320). Use a soft touch, but be sure to get an even overall sanding pattern. Use your sense of touch and a raking light to see the pattern. Since poly doesn't stick well to itself, you need to give it an even tooth (lots of tiny groves) for the next coats to grab onto.

I am guessing that putting gloss over semi or satin might not work well. I think you will see the difference between where the semi has peeled off and not. Unless you are sure that you have removed all of the semi, I suggest that you don't use gloss now.

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