duckkisser Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 Ok so i came across rub on poly and i was wondering what people thought of it. Is there any issues that have come up when mixing it with other chemicles and dies? Regular poly is kinda thick and drips will show up right away but how thick is the rub on kind? Does the rub on type absorb into the wood? Any advice or thoughts are welcome even if it has nothing to do with my question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoboMonk Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 Well, Ok, so, basically "wipe on poly" products come with the instructions on the can and usually at the vendors website. There are many brands on the market. IMNSHO, one of the best is ZAR® TUNG OIL WIPE-ON FINISH. IIRC, our host, The Wood Whisperer, has a nice video on the subject on his website. Yes it does absorb into the wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted June 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 Wow that was a realy fast reply i love how frendly people are on this forum. I checked out a few product videos but they tend to be a bit biased so if the product is realy bad they tend to not say anything about its problems. Just hate to fork over any bills if i dont have to. Im still going through his pod casts from the begining so i havent watched that one. since i just started geting into wood and just started watching him and his lovely wife i still have alot to catch up on. But ill force past my obsesive trate of doing things in order and jump ahead. God im Rambling so ill just stop here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 Rub on poly is very thin finish. Its meant to be rubbed on then buffed off. -Ace- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewoodwhisperer Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 If I am going to use a varnish product, I use a wiping formula nearly 100% of the time. I just find it so much easier to work with. Arm-R-Seal is the stuff I like. And although the instructions tell you to wipe off the excess, I usually don't. I use a rag to simply wipe it on and leave it on. Builds fast and with less waste, but still much easier to control than using full-strength poly with a brush. As far as mixing issues are concerned, its exactly the same stuff that's in the full-strength cans, only its been diluted. So all the same rules apply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbarton22 Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 About how many coats does a fella need to put on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 About how many coats does a fella need to put on? That depends...if you need hard protection for table tops and surfaces getting lots of wear and tear. Follow the directions on the can. I believe Arm-R-Seal says 3 to 4 coats, no thinning. Something like a clock or picture frame (things that don't require lots of protection) maybe 1 or 2 light coats. Wood type will also be a factor as to how may coats. Hard maple, may require less than poplar or pine which are more pours and will pull more finish deep into the wood, thus requiring more coats. -Ace- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewoodwhisperer Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 About how many coats does a fella need to put on? As many as a fella likes! You can do as little as two coats for a more "natural" look or you can put 7-10 coats for a thicker more protective finish. With the wiping formula, you can really dial it in to your personal tastes and needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted June 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 so far first coat and cant wait for second coat im thinking of using lemon oil on inside so that when you open the box it has a nice frangrant smell doing a test on scrap board to see if it causes any problems with wipe on poly and lemon oil mixing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewoodwhisperer Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 I probably wouldn't do that just to be safe. If you want some lemon oil fragrance, I would wait till the finish is done and completely cured. Then give it a little lemon oil treatment. Otherwise you could wind up with a sticky mess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayashiox Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 What Marc said, wait until it cures. Another option is to use water based polyurethane as the inside finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted June 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 Oh i will just wanted to see how they effect each other. Unless it spontainisly catches on fire i think ill be ok. Best way to learn is to make mess and then clean it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbarton22 Posted June 17, 2011 Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 I was in the middle of putting on wipe on poly when this topic came up. I went with 2 coats applied about 3 hours apart (per instructions). Let it cure for 24 hours. Then I applied the Bealle polishing system with the final wax being renaissance wax. Feels like velvet. I love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted June 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 I was in the middle of putting on wipe on poly when this topic came up. I went with 2 coats applied about 3 hours apart (per instructions). Let it cure for 24 hours. Then I applied the Bealle polishing system with the final wax being renaissance wax. Feels like velvet. I love it. Never heard of bealle polishing system im guessing its some kind of buffer and again let me say im just starting out in wood so if this is a realy common tool then everyone will have to forgive me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbarton22 Posted June 17, 2011 Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 Never heard of bealle polishing system im guessing its some kind of buffer and again let me say im just starting out in wood so if this is a realy common tool then everyone will have to forgive me. I had not heard about it until 2 months ago. It is a package where you get 3 buffing compounds and 3 different density buffing wheels. The first is a tripoli compound , then white diamond and then carnauba wax. The buffing wheels get softer along the way. I replaced the wax with Renaissance wax for a better finish. What I did was probably overkill. I definitely didn't get the same look I would normally get if I had just buffed if since I had the 2 layers of poly. However, I thought the result looked really great and was noticeably different than just the poly. I suspect if I had put more coats of poly down, the buffing effect would have diminished. One thing of note. The thing I am making is just shop furniture, so I am experimenting. Beall system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Elliott Posted July 27, 2011 Report Share Posted July 27, 2011 If you're looking for a wipe-on product, your best bet is a wiping oil varnish rather than a wiping poly. Poly was originally developed as a floor finish, and one of its characteristics is that it dries relatively soft -- a good feature if you want to avoid chipping a brittle surface like a floor but a not-so-good feature if you want to rub out a piece of furniture or cabinetry to a nice velvety finish. Here's my approach to wipe-on finishes: First, find a good old fashioned short oil varnish. You'll probably have to go to a paint store, not a hardware or big box store. The most recent product I used for this purpose was Zinsser Quick-15. Thin the varnish 50-50 with mineral spirits to make a wiping varnish. Put on some gloves, saturate a lint-free rag with the wiping varnish, and wring it about as dry as you'd wring out a rag to wipe a countertop. Then wipe your project down just as you'd wipe down a countertop with a wet rag. You're barely going to get the surface wet, but that's the idea. Let it dry for a couple of hours, then repeat the application. I do three coats in one day like this and then let it sit overnight. Sand lightly with 400 grit the next day to remove any small dust nibs and level the surface. Then do three more coats. Build the surface until you get the thickness you want. Usually six to nine coats is sufficient. Let everything cure for a week. Then rub out the finish with 0000 steel wool or a superfine synthetic wool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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