Satin Finish for Brushing?

[George Octon]

Do you have a favorite and dependable satin finish for brushing, for furniture wood trim, and floors? I've had a lot of difficulty with this for a while. In the old days, this could be done with o trouble whatsoever. Now things are different, apparently. I've tried a couple products recently and had only moderate success and they were only very small areas of trim. I've got some on the schedule coming up and a small floor also. Thank you for any input.

Recently used Interlux Goldspar, Epifanes, and Minwax Spar. I likes the sheen of the Minwax Spar, but it was way too hard to work. It set up too fast and it was thin already right out of the can. I has some luck with the Interlux, but the areas were very mall and the luck was not that great.

[Scott Holmes]

Minwax spar is for EXTERIOR applications, not for interior floors and should not even be considered for interior furniture or cabinets. Way too soft...

IMHO Poly is for floors, PERIOD. There are much better varnishes (polyurethane is a type of varnish) for furniture than poly. They are harder, clearer and easier to use. Poly must be sanded between coats (it has trouble sticking) the better (furniture) varnishes do not have to be sanded between coats.

For floors I like Varathanes satin floor poly Minwax is also OK. I have not tried Zinsser's floor poly yet (I don't like doing floors). Zinsser is a good company and I like their products so I'll bet the floor poly is good.

[Howard Acheson]

I agree with Scott. There are few situations where a "spar" or exterior varnish or poly varnish should be used in an interior application. Spar varnish is designed to be soft and flexible so it can maintain adhesion with large swings in environmental changes. To make it flexible, a higher percentage of oil is used which will reduce the water and water vapor resistance of the finish. It also makes it very soft so it has less durability. It is too soft to stand up to the heavy abrasion of floor finishes and it's more slippery than a finish intended for floors.

Interior rated finishes are harder, more water resistant and more durable.

[Neal Clayton]

waterlox satin brushes very easily. it's thick enough un-thinned out of the can to cling to vertical surfaces (like moldings) and also works well for floors too.

[George Octon]

Thanks for the replies, pretty limited though when you think of how common a satin finish is: virtually all furniture, floors, interior clear trim, etc.

Virtually any satin finish (maybe some more than others) will be soft, the satining agent makes it soft; you can feel how soft they are when you sand them. Minwax may be a little harder. I used to use a fair amount of Minwax, but there has been a lot of trouble with it in recent years, just ask at a paint store (that is, a real paint store). It used to be pretty commonly used by floor finishers.

The issue with the satins is that they are so difficult to get a good even finish. In the old days (say 20-30 years) this was effortless. And then something happened... I guess I'll try Waterlox; I don't know what else to do. I think I tried Varathane and didn't have any luck. I mean what do people use on furniture, new or refinished? I tried Pratt and Lambert varnish last year and it was horrible.

[Henry Ambrose]

Keep the Waterlox stirred well while brushing and it'll look great.

[Scott Holmes]

Having used Pratt & Lambert varnish many times I must say the the "horrible" comment must have had something to do with your application technique. P&L is a top quality varnish that flows out well and dries hard; when properly applied...

Satin varnish dries as hard as gloss... The silica used to flatten the shine is as hard if not harder than the varnish. It may mark or scratch a bit easier but that is not because it is softer.

As for satin varnish not drying to an even sheen... that too has more to do with technique than the product. I usually VIGORIOUSLY SHAKE all satin varnishes before I use them... I know many people will say "do not shake" but with proper application it will not make a bit of difference AND you will have a well mixed product, which will in fact give you an even sheen.

[George Octon]

I stir my satin very very thoroughly, much more so than in the old days when it was effortless to get a good job. In fact it was routine and no one gave it a second thought.

If something feels soft when you sand it; I would tend to think that it is soft. Although different products use different flatteners, e.g. Minwax has very little flattener in it and requires very little stirring.

My Pratt & Lambert looked like crap, kind of a milky uneven finish. I know of one product, Interlux Rubbed Effect that went from an absolutely beautiful even finish to a lousy dog when they changed from a phenolic resin to a polurethane. I've talked to guys in stores and finishers and Minwax has had big big problems. A guy at a Pratt & Lambert store says he thinks it's the flatteners that cause the problems. In the old days, McCloskey Heirloom was nice and easy and beautiful; the last time I used it, it was horrible. I guess I'll try again.