suprmnn602 Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Hello all, I am new to woodworking small projects and if you'd ask my dad, he probably laugh if he new what I was trying to do in my home. My wife saw online people varnishing their formica countertops with polyureathane and thought it was a nice beautiful shiney look. Since we cannot afford granite she thought it would be a good idea to try. Well I'm not the most handy guy but I wanted to please my wife, if momma aint happy, aint no one happy, right. So I went to HD to get the supplies. I got 220 grit paper, some water based miniwax, cheese cloth, thinner, and a suitable brush. After I prepared the surface with my light sanding, and thinner wipe down I proceeded to spread the poly. I now have streaks and small bubbles. The streaking is the worst of the problem. Anyone ever finished formica and have advice. Should I thin out the poly? I live in AZ so the temp is 100+, so maybe that is the problem. Sorry this is so long but any help with this will get me out of the dog house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave H Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 I've never tried putting poly over formica, but what the heck. When this coat dries lightly sand the whole counter top again just enough to give the 1st coat some tooth for the second coat to grab ahold of, and knock down any nibs or bubbles give it another light coat of poly. Always light coats your building a finish you can't get it in one coat so forget that. Keep recoating until mamma's happy probably three coats will do unless you need to take the first coat down more because of the bubbling, remember to always work a wet edge don't try to brush the back edge and then the the front and then fill in the middle because you'll lose your wet edge work an area linierally and once you"ve done an area maybe 2 foot of the counter move to the next 2 foot working the wet edge and don't stop until your at a stopping point like the end of one section of counter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rgraham888 Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 It sounds like your finish is drying too quickly. I live in Dallas and noticed that when I used oil based paints, I have to put it down pretty quickly, and not re-brush an area or I get streaks and bubbles. I started using penetrol to extend the drying time of my oil based paints, and that helped a bit. Also, bubbles can come from foam brushes, so a nice bristle brush might help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.