I tried to search this here, and maybe (probably) missed it.   Can water based poly be wiped on?  I've got to move my armoire project into the house (temps got too low to continue working in the garage) so I want to keep smell and cure time down.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Paul

My answer to that would be "no" because poly must be thin to wipe it on and water based poly can't be cut.  Keith Mealy may jump in on this and correct me though.

Try it un cut on some scrap. Might work. Try a painting pad. Get it sopping wet and flood the surface. It dries fast so, you want to keep the pad full for overlaps.

I do it all the time.  It is pretty thin to start with, so actually a little thinner than ideal.  Old cotton sock works great, and you learn to "dope" it just right to avoid drips.  Works really well on vertical surfaces (eg, my front door, in place).   In dry climate, and indoors, dries for recoat within an hour, so multiple light coats are convenient. 

I was just guessing. Glad Pete has the experience. Sounds like it's doable.

What Ron said about thinning it is true, more than the manufacturer allows and you screw with the chemistry of the finish. If it will work  without being diluted, give it a go. That said, Pete's experience is the first time I've ever seen anyone said it worked. Let us know how it turns out.

I've been wiping on water based poly to finish my band saw boxes. The water based poly is quite thin to begin with. I turned to the water based finish because it dries faster and allows me to apply more coats over a shorter time period. After the first coat dries, I sand lightly, then sand very lightly after each 3 coats, and apply 2 final coats. Total of 9 coats.  You might want to try it on a scrap piece to see if you are satisfied with the results. 

It may depend upon the product.   Mohawk makes a touch up w/b wiping product called Finish Up.  (Why Mohawk private names all things, I don't know, it's frustrating).   There is one guy who raves about it, but I think he was probably the developers, so "consider the source."

 

Guardsman also has one, but I was less impressed with it.

 

When working with oil-based finishes, you can mix and match to your heart's content - mineral spirits, linseed oil, and varnish in any proportion you want.  Those are the three main components in those products.

Water-borne finishes on the other hand, are a delicate balance up a dozen or more components -  resins, glycol ethers, water, surfactants, defoamers, etc.  You can't always just dump in water without a chance of upsetting that balance and having things go awry.    Some manufacturers make a dilutent for their product, many do not.

 

It works, apparently, for @It Was Al B and @PeteM .   They may have a specific product that is low viscosity enough to work, or have determined an allowable amount of thinner of some sort, for that product.

Thanks for the input guys.  I'm using Varathane Semi Gloss. I opted to try wiping straight out of the can, using an old t-shirt.  My first impression was 'that was a mistake'.  I found it difficult to maintain an even coat as I went.  Dripping wasn't an issue.  The usual heavy accumulation in corners was a little heavier than I've gotten with oil based poly.

 

For the 2nd coat, I was going to take Gene's suggestion and switch to a painting pad, but then I thought, why change the technique before I tried wiping a 2nd coat.  So this time, I took another piece of old t-shirt, and dampened it slightly with water before applying.  Much better control on keeping the coat even.  I don't know it that was from the damp shirt, or just the way the Varathane responds to itself, but I'm satisfied with the result (and more importantly SWMBO is happy).

 

I'll post a couple of pics once I've got it all re-assembled.

 

Thanks again.

Paul

 

Finally finished (pun intended).  Thanks for the finishing advice.

Really turned out nice! Well done.

I am not a fan of water base, have done only a few pieces with any. That is a great project and the finish looks great too.

Glad you're happy with the finish Paul. I tend to keep my application pad a bit wet. The wetness of your pad might have had something to do with the problem you had with your first coat. I don't normally thin the finish to wipe it on.

That is super Paul, and from where I sit the finish looks great also,

Cal

Looks great.  I didn't think it could be done. 

On ‎11‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 3:52 AM, Snailman said:

 So this time, I took another piece of old t-shirt, and dampened it slightly with water before applying. 

DOH!  That's a super trick.  Similar to pre-wet on paint brush.  Otherwise the rag keeps absorbing finish, wasting some finish. 

On ‎11‎/‎26‎/‎2017 at 8:16 AM, Ron Dudelston said:

Looks great.  I didn't think it could be done. 

Neither did I .  There were a few tense moments when I started the application.  

 

Thanks for the compliments.  I hadn't used water based dye before this project.  I really liked the application, and it didn't seem to muddy the grain.  I used bulls eye sanding sealer that had an amber tone to it.  I was concerned my wife wouldn't like the amber tone, but she says she likes it (and I'm going with that!)

 

My only other experience with water born finish was sealing the inside of a pantry I built using minwax polycryllic.  I wasn't overly impressed with that application (seemed to raise the grain considerably), but it was the inside of a pantry with rolling shelves, so no one really sees or feels the inside of that carcass.

 

I'll definitely try this again, although, I may make up my own spit coat with blonde shellac next time.

 

 

C'mon, Dude.. Tell em about the nylon socks..

 

Larry Jenkins

On 11/25/2017 at 5:54 AM, Snailman said:

Finally finished (pun intended).  Thanks for the finishing advice.

That's excellent!!