Waterlox: Wipe It On Like A Kid Wiping Tables At A Fast Food Joint?

[Brian Saville]

I'm a computer guy. I manage a group of software developers. This sort of guidance leaves me bewildered and anguished over every wipe and on every coat. It leaves so much ambiguity that finishing is more stressful than any part of my day job. Did the kid just dip his rag in the water or was that done six tables ago? Did he wring the rag out or is it sopping wet? Is he a conscientious young man cleaning the tables the best he can or is he a slacker going through the motions?

I just can't help but want precision. It's how my brain works. I get angles and fractions and flat and square and plumb. But I don't get the kid wiping the tables. How many fluid ounces per square foot? What size rag? What material rag? How much fluid will the rag hold so I know how much to apply with a syringe in addition to the amount required per square foot?

I want to love Waterlox. But I'm a afraid to put a rag, a brush, or a roller to wood.

Can someone help a binary brain out?

(the project is a cherry ply desktop)

Thanks!!

[Jim Matthews]

I use Waterlox original as my finish.
I apply it with progressively finer Mirka Mirlon abrasive pads.

It takes a little elbow grease to apply things this way, you're buffing the top layer
with a wet pad, and trying to get an ever finer scratch pattern.

Waterlox original is the hardest finish, with the highest sheen.
Other versions have a lower luster, but that's accomplished by adding things to the mix
which weaken the bonds it forms while curing.

Using a progressive series of pads allows you to stop when you have achieved the desired finish.

I would say three coats is a minimum using this method.

It takes several days between coats for the finish to cure.
Waterlox stinks when curing - keep it outside your house, or in a space that's ventilated out of the house.

No need to sand between coats, the scuffing of the pads does that for you.

PS - The pursuit of perfection is inversely proportional to the time taken to completion.

Waterlox on Cherry.jpg

[Prashun Patel]

Your problem is that you're not calibrated. Humans applying wipe on varnish is a software + hardware problem; not strictly software. Your hardware (eyes, and hands) are not calibrated to understand the bandied-about terms like 'thin', 'slick', 'wet', 'quick', 'gently'.

I too am a software developer and engineer and have a visceral reaction to ambiguity (but not all the time; it depends )

I have also learned to use Waterlox and other wiping varnishes to my satisfaction.

I calibrated myself by testing. It's a painful running all those use cases through, but you don't have to be exhaustive, just representative.

So, test, test, test. It's the only way to calibrate your machine.

[Sean Hughto]

It is a no-fault exercise - you really cannot do it wrong. Flood the surfaces - there is no such thing as too much and too little, just means more coats will be needed. Wait a half hour and wipe off all the extra. That's it.

[Steve Schoene]

Sean's approach will more or less work, but it's really more suited to a oil/varnish mix finish. Waterlox is a varnish, there is no necessity to wipe it all off. It can be applied with a brush, or with a pad. And yes, practice on scrap to refine your technique before working on the project. By the way, the Sealer/Finish Waterlox is the one already thinned to be used as a wiping varnish. It is not the most glossy--it is a very attractive semi-gloss sheen. Waterlox Gloss, is formulated with a higher solids percentage, more like a traditional brush on varnish, though it can easily be thinned for wiping. The Gloss is the most shiny. I thing the three Waterlox varnishes, Satin, Sealer/Finish, and Gloss all are quite similar in hardness, since the "flatting agent" doesn't really soften the finish, just makes it rougher.

[Sean Hughto]

My apologies, I saw "Waterlox" but thought "Watco." My approach is for Watco. Sorry.

[Praki Prakash]

As a computer guy, you must be familiar with the concept of PlanToThrowOneAway, no?

I used Waterlox Original about 8 years ago to finish windows and doors in my house. It was my first ever attempt at finishing something significant. I just wiped it on with a rag, wipe off the excess, dry for a day for a total of three times. After a few weeks, I buffed it down with brown paper bags. The finish still looks great.

Unfortunately, I can't buy that formulation of Waterlox anymore in my county and don't know what the new one is like.

My approach would be try the finish on a scrap piece (of fair size) to gain familiarity and confidence. There is no substitute for experience

[Scott Holmes]

Wiping on a varnish "as the Kid..." simply means wet the wood enough to get it wet (First coat will change the look of the wood) and LEAVE it alone. don't keep wiping an d wiping and trying to get a smooth coat. If you have puddles, ridges, drops, lines, streaks or any rag marks... you have applied too much. IF you have a perfectly smooth glass look after a wipe-on coat and then it dries and no longer looks like glass you probably applied to much. You will get to the glass smooth finish; it will take anywhere from 6 to 12 or more wipe-on coats depending on wood type, surface prep, etc.

A brushed or sprayed on coat will have a 2-3 mill wet coat thickness; about a quarter of that is the dried film thickness. A wipe on coat can't be measured with a standard wet mill gauge.

3 or 4 wipe on coats will build to the same thickness as one properly applied brushed or sprayed coat. Most surfaces will need 2 or more equivalent BRUSHED coats for good protection. Table tops need even more. If you want to rub-out -the finish to get a glass smooth, high gloss finish, you will need additional coats to provide enough thickness to be able to rub it out.

Waterlox and most other varnishes require 30 days or so to fully cure. Rubbing out in a week or two is pushing the time frame a bit... patience is key here.

[Jim Matthews]

My apologies, I saw "Waterlox" but thought "Watco." My approach is for Watco. Sorry.

I thought the only difference between the formulations was tinting.
I was taught to use Waterlox on lighter colored wood as it has an amber tint.

Watco is essentially colorless, and what I use on darker wood like Walnut.
(Same application method, with scuff pads.)

[Jim Matthews]

Waterlox and most other varnishes require 30 days or so to fully cure. Rubbing out in a week or two is pushing the time frame a bit... patience is key here.

Do temperature and humidity affect that time frame?

[Prashun Patel]

Yes. If you have the patience, wait a month and use your nose.

watco has a component of pure boiled linseed oil. This causes the watco danish oil to dry softer than pure varnish like waterlox. Any oil in waterlox has been reacted to become a hard resin forming varnish.

the thicker the film you apply, the more you will notice the difference between the two products.

[Bob Wingard]

Waterlox original is the hardest finish, with the highest sheen.
Other versions have a lower luster, but that's accomplished by adding things to the mix
which weaken the bonds it forms while curing.

Flatting agents weaken the finish ???

[Scott Holmes]

Jim,

Waterlox is varnish; Watco is an oil/varnish blend. Choosing them for the color is not a good method of selecting a finish. Better to select a finish for the performance needed for the project. Watco oil/varnish blend a.k.a. "Danish Oil" comes with stains added to make their entire range of "colors". Their "neutral" has linseed oil, varnish and thinner only. Varnish provides more protection as it builds an impervious film (not really, no finish is completely impervious) on the wood's surface; oil/varnish blends leave a very thin soft finish IN THE WOOD. Any film left with an oil/varnish blend would be so soft you could scrape it off with your fingernail.

[Stan Calow]

Having worked fast food when I was a teenager, I understand perfectly. Wipe the table w/o overthinking it, since you're only getting minimum wage and the girl at the next table is cute.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Do temperature and humidity affect that time frame?

Probably, so some extent.

My BTDT advice is don't push it. Give it the full month if you are going to rub out.

My experience also taught me that waiting for the "full cure" is an exercise in chemistry - not a pragmatic exercise. Which means - after some days - 4-5 - it is good to put into service in most cases. It will stand up to the use. Then - come back to rub out later.

In fact - there are a pair of hall tables at a client/neighbor. They got them less than a week after the last coat of varnish. I still owe them a rub-out - a year later.