Q: I love gel polyurethane but I was wondering if there is some kind of flattener you would recommend that could be used in it to make it flatter than satin.
A: No, there is nothing you can add easily, but there are certainly ways to control the sheen. Bear in mind that is a wipe [...]
Q: What finish will stand up to New York winters? Sometimes the windows sweat on the inside and my finish comes off in a year or two.
A: Part of that my be your choice of finish, but it may also be the preparation. You must start with clean, sanded wood to get good adhesion, then [...]
Q: Is an oil/polyurethane mixture a good choice for a dining table?
A: Oil alone is a fairly poor choice. Oil based polyurethane is an excellent choice. A mixture of the two will fall somewhere between poor and excellent.
Q: We used hemp oil and beeswax to finish a new very large dining room table. However, the finish is not durable and water and wine stains are a real problem. We wish to remove and re-sand it and need some advice for refinishing it. Would any other oil such, as walnut oil offer the [...]
Q: The Rockler gel urethane I used to use is no longer available. Any suggestions?
A: The Rockler gel was a private label product made by Lawrence McFadden. They went into bankruptcy and their formulas and remaining product was purchased by Seagrave Coatings. Peter Teppermann, the president of Seagrave, assured me that they will continue selling [...]
Q: I have a piano with what Kawai tells me is a polyurethane finish that was severely gouged. While I am a professional refinisher, I am at a loss as to how to burn-in the gouges and rub them out without having to re-coat. Is there a method to avoid the re-coating?
A: Probably not. I [...]
Q: It been about six years since I’ve had my hardwood floors installed. I want to apply a couple of coats waterbased polyurethane sealer to the floor but I’m not sure whether the installer used oil or water.
A: Several companies offer special waterbased floor finishing kits designed to go over any type of floor finish [...]
Q: I just had an oak dining table refinished in a dark brown, shiny poly finish. It looks great, but only after two weeks I am seeing dozens of little superficial surface scratches everywhere. Do you think this is normal?
A: Fine scratches on the surface of a gloss finish are certainly common. Of course, [...]
Q: I recently read an item about adding something to polyurethane to make it cure faster. It was published in the December 2002 issue of Woodworker’s Journal in your Finishing Thoughts column. I went back through my issues and that one is missing. Can you help?
A: I just checked my copy, and it says nothing [...]
Q: How do you prevent bubbles in spar varnish? I have tried bristle brushes, sponge brushes, and even putty knives.
A: In real estate the adage is location, location, location. With brushing oil based varnish, it’s technique, technique, technique.
A few basics come first. Start with the softest natural bristle brush you can find; ox hair is [...]
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