I was checking out this old thread where Herb S was discussing the virtues of waterbased polyurethane from local building supply store.
http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=324974;search_string=minwax;guest=19851568#324974
As a follow up to that thread – I’m curious if anyone has tried this stuff over epoxy? Instructions say to wipe on with cloth - a few coats are required…
Ive used MiniWax and a similar behr product over a couple personal epoxy boards. It was not this wipe on stuff though.
A few things, plain and simple -
#1They are not “clear” (mainly applies to the matte finishes, but also for the gloss - but hey epoxy isnt “clear” either) If you put it over nice colors then just expect it to cloud up a little after you put it in the water.
#2 It will yellow, alot of the stuff (behr in particular) is not made with great UV resistance (but neither was epoxy at the get go, they both have come out with “improved UV resistance” poly coats, perhaps it slows the process a little)
#3 It is suppose to chip off, I have had 2 boards I made 3 years ago with a behr poly coat that have not chipped (yea it will scratch just like anything else but no major pealing this far).
Hope that helps a little, but let us know how it works if you try.
or you could just do a nice sanded epoxy finish and wipe it down with a marble counter top polish (its not a gloss but it still come out really nice)
Thanks Holladay,
I checked it out at HD today and realized it is for indoor use only. Enough said I suppose.
My wife had a local carpenter make us a nice wood patio table (kind of like an extended picnic table) for our shaded back porch. He glossed it with some Fast Dry Polyu from minwax. Usually the table stays in the shade, but we moved it into the sun for several weeks while I was working on some boards (so I could have the shaded part of the deck). Bad move. The sun killed the gloss - basically just deteriorated and peeled off kind of like flaky skin after a bad sunburn.
Some other stuff I’ve used is the dolphin skin from surfsouce over a 320 or 400 finish. comes out pretty nice, but definitely not gloss. I’ve also tried the marble countertop polish, but it seemed to be a bit smeary /streaky – maybe just the way I put it on…
Never had much probs w/ using it.
It does yellow, but no faster that the blank and glass under it(eps/epoxy).
Paint you blanks in yellow of orangey/reds…that ends that.
And as long as you don’t make the coat 1/2" thick …it won’t peel.
Herb
I always had a lot of trouble trying to get my epoxy gloss coats to come out nice, so i started to use the outdoor / gloss water based PU from Varathane. It works well but not the same as a real poly gloss. I don’t fine sand and polish afterwards but if you did I’m sure it would look pretty good, I think that’s what Herb does.
The Varathane stuff is clear, doesn’t yellow and adds extra UV protectant over the epoxy. Don’t use the stuff from the spray can, it will yellow. you also have to be careful wiping it on, if it is too thick it will be cloudy.
overall I really like the stuff, gives a bit thicker longer lasting finish than future and has the extra uv inhibitors which is a big bonus. also less work and stress than an epoxy or poly gloss coat, but not as good a finish if they are done well.
good luck