Box store's finest wiping varnish

[Paul Carlucci]

I have a personal rule about not using a finish that takes more than 45 minutes of driving to get to. It's just a personal rule and I refuse to mail order a consumable like that. Probably at some point I'll break down and go for one of Waterlox's products, but for now just humor me.

That being said, I think I want to go with a wiping varnish but the nearest Woodcraft store is over an hour away in a direction that I never would otherwise have reason to travel to. I'm also now thoroughly confused as to what products are actually a straight varnish versus which ones are a wiping varnish and I'd rather not buy one of each and start experimenting. I'm fine with diluting varnish into wiping varnish. All that being said, I have the following stores available to me within my self-defined zone:

• Home Depot
• Lowes
• Ace (also carries Benjamin Moore)
• Sherwin Williams

The reason I'm looking for a wiping varnish is that the project after the current one is going to have a number of surfaces that will be highly impractical to sand. I'm basically a fool looking for a fool-proof solution.

[Matt Meiser]

Before I learned to spray I had good luck with Minwax's Wipe On Poly. But I probably won't buy it again between using WB spray finishes and General Finishes Seal A Cell/Arm R Seal for wiping finishes which I just like better.

[John Coloccia]

An extra half hour spent driving will save you a hell of a lot of trouble.

[Scott Holmes]

Sherwin Williams paint stores carry their Classiic Fast Dry Oil varnish. It's an alkyd resin/linseed oil varnish. It is not my choice to make it into a wipe-on varnish... they use a fast drying thinner and mineral spirits (MS) doesn't play nice with it.

Also, wiping it with more varnish or MS tends to soften the varnish if it has not had a a least few days to cure... It still takes a month to completely cure but the first few days it will soften a bit with MS on a rag.

As for a home made wipe on pick any thing that is NOT POLY! Mail order saves you the tax too...

[Paul Carlucci]

I was looking at the SW Fast Dry stuff, didn't know not to use mineral spirits. The technical data actually says to use MS to clean it up. Would I thin it with paint thinner to make it a wipe on, and if so how much?

[Mike Monroe]

I read in a woodworking magazine an article about wipe-on wood finishes; can't remember when or where. But I recall the article stated that Minwax Wipe-on Ploy was one of the best wipe-on finishes out there. That kind of surprised me, maybe that's why I remember the article.

[Mike Monroe]

It was Fine Woodworking 178 July-August 2005, page 32 Wipe-on Finish Test.

Minwax Wipe-on Poly won Best Overall and Best Value.

[Scott Holmes]

Fine woodworking always picks Minwax products (one of their biggest advertisers) as the best... Makes you say Hmmm.

Paul, you can try it with the MS (FYI paint thinner is mineral spirits); but SW fast dry classic doesn't wipe-on well.

[Mike Monroe]

FWIW the FWW article was written by Chris Minick - a self described amateur woodworker.

[Scott Holmes]

I plan to contact FWW to see if they will let me do a finish comparision... or an article on finishing.

[Matt Meiser]

Minwax Wipe-on Poly won Best Overall and Best Value.

Like I said I've had good luck with it. Some of the pieces I've used it on are over 10 years old now. The only thing that isn't holding up well is the lid of our blanket chest which is getting fairly scratched up becuase of throwing clothes on it, dirt rubbed in from the bottoms of plastic laundry baskets set on it (despite please against,) the dog using it as a step onto the bed (see above.) And very recently it was damaged by the adhesive on a plastic bag LLBean shipped a comforter cover in. Other than that, end tables, night stands, other bedroom furniture, etc--all holding up nicely.

Personally I don't see the "plastic" look which I often hear complaints about but maybe because I use satin?

However like I said I like the GF products more.

[Paul Carlucci]

Alright, so I think I'm just going to pick up some Arm-R-Seal and get used to driving to Woodcraft.

[Don Jarvie]

I use Miniwax Wipe on Poly and have had great luck with it. Eventually I'll try some of the better brands but I have no complaints.

[Prashun Patel]

I've also had good luck with Minwax wipeon poly. I've used all 3 sheens. I DO notice the plasticky look vis-a-vis other finishes, but only when the sheen gets built up somewhat. Hard to explain - and hard to complain about - unless you have seen many different finishes. But for lower build finishes, or oil/varnish blends (I get chastised for my use of this term) I have found it to perform well enough for me.

Some of my 'pieces' are also pretty old and have gotten a lot of abuse and look great still. I too am an amateur woodworker, but Minwax works for me - as I imagine it might for a lot of other 'amateurs', for whom Big Box convenience and price might be a factor.

I think you should try it for yourself and make yr own conclusion about whether it's good enough for you.

Three other finishes from the BORG I'd consider are Deft Finish (spray lacquer), Minwax spray lacquer, and Zinnser shellac in a spray can. I find all 3 of these to apply very easy and to have moderate durability where appropriate. A single can can cover a modestly sized object completely. Again, these may not be professional quality, but try them for yourself and over time you'll develop confidence to make yr own conclusion whether it's for you or not. The investment is low.

[Joe Arcimboldo]

First, let me second everything Scott has said about the SW fast-dry varnish. It does not wipe on or cure well.
I recently had trouble with it (again!) on a walnut table. I was thinning with naphtha (per a Jeff Jewitt article in FWW 143).
I was recently looking at a Shaker cupboard I finished a few months ago, wondering why it looks so good and was so easy to apply, and the only thing I could come up with was that I had used McCloskey's Spar Varnish instead of the SW.
I got the idea from using spar from another back issue of FWW (122), where Garrett Hack describes his reasons and process for making wiping varnish. He writes:

"A spar varnish has a compara*bly high oil content, which takes longer to cure and leaves a fairly elastic surface that ac*commodates wood movement. Polyurethane varnishes dry quickly and form a tough, durable, but less elastic, coat* ing. Also, after the finish has cured, repairs or additional coats don't bond well.
In terms of drying time, toughness and elasticity, alkyd* resin varnishes fall somewhere between spar varnish and poly* urethane. They're not as tough as polyurethane, but they're more elastic, and any coats ap* plied after the varnish has cured still bond well.
I have used all three of these varnishes in my finish with good results, but my favorite is spar. The main reason is color. Spar is the darkest. In combina*tion with linseed oil, which also tends to darken wood, spar var* nish significantly affects the color of some woods, like cher*ry. I happen to like the effect this mixture has."

Given what he's said, and given that spar varnishes are readily available at home centers, why not give that a try?