Minwax wipe on poly

I am refinishing a table for someone and I'm afraid I may have screwed up. The table had a varnish, stain, tung oil mixture put on it. It had been getting lemon pledge for years and years, and then someone sprayed Murphy's Oil soap on it, which made awful blotches and destroyed the finish. So, I first tried a linseed oil, white vinegar, turpentine mix to clean the finish, but it didn't work. So, I used denatured alcohol with steel wool to get rid of the splotches and some or all of the old finish. I then sanded the table with a random orbit sander, and used minwax wipe on poly. I am on the 3rd coat of wipe on and have been 400 grit sanding between coats and the finish still doesn't look good. It is clear in some spots, and in others it looks like there isn't enough finish on the table, like it is really flat, or it is still soaking into the table. Could I put a wax on the table that would shine everything up, or should I keep on applying the wipe on poly until it coats everything well? Also, I've never used wipe on poly before, so maybe my process is not correct. I almost exclusively use OSMO hard wax oil, but it requires yearly touch ups, and the owners of this table will not do that. Any advice? Thanks, Nick. I can get some pictures of this thing as I would imagine you all might want some.

Welcome to the WW Forum. May I suggest that if looking for information, you always do a search first? It's unusual not to find an answer to any woodworking challenge you face. We have a bunch of guys and a few very talented women here with a wealth of experience and knowledge - if you don't find a suitable answer after searching the forums, by all means ask.

Here's a couple of links to discussion about Minwax Wipe-On Poly. One is on these forums; the second on the Taunton forum. Hope this helps.:)

http://tinyurl.com/o73lv
http://tinyurl.com/ngkrw

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nlkent

I am refinishing a table for someone and I'm afraid I may have screwed up. The table had a varnish, stain, tung oil mixture put on it. It had been getting lemon pledge for years and years

---

I strongly suspect that the culprit is in the aerosol "wax" that has been applied as it contains silicone.

Others may well comment differently, but I would plane/sand back to bare fresh timber, the seal with either sanding sealer or dilute shellac (from uBeaut); apply a couple of coats and let it harden for at least a week. Then, and only then, start building up the required finish.

Minwax's Wipe-on POly is one of my favorite finishes. Lemon Pledge is the worse thing to ever put on any finish.

Having said that, Is the Wipe-on ploy adhereing? Any fish eye? If not then keep on applying the wipe-on poly. I learned from a master of the poly to use a piece of old Tee shirt material. I cut a square about 2" and fold it in thirds and then in thirds again. I take a hemostat (medical insturiment, locking tweezers) and hold the pad. I pour a small amout into a small container and dip the pad. You wipe the surface with the small applicator (used as a brush) and allow a wet look. Don't go back over... and allow to harden (not just dry but harden) this is usually over night (in dry weather) I often use an old goose neck lamp and 100 watt lightbulb in close proximity to the piece to aid in the hardening. I use Green Scotch brite pads to scuff between coats. as the finish nears completion,. I change to 300 or 400 paper and gentle rub to remove the nibs and lumps etc. Then a final wet coat, on larger pieces I usually do one side at a time waiting till it hardens to turn and keep the top surface level so the wet wipe will float out to a smoothe "Spayed" look.

I always use Gloss and never the Semi gloss. the semi gloss is dulled chemically so you can never raise a shine. But with the gloss, you can use pumice and oil rub to reduce the shime to a suttle glow.

I did a search and didn't find the answers I needed. I believe I was able to remove most of the old finish that was sitting on the wood surface. And yes, the poly is adhering, it is just acting different than straight polyurethane, which is what I am familiar with. I'm assuming that it should act differently, as it isn't nearly as viscous. I guess I'll just have to keep on applying it and see if it eventually builds up. If it is being applied to raw wood, how many coats does it usually take to achieve a decent finish?