Waterlox not cured or too much on?

[David Kuzdrall]

I was finishing a hard maple table with waterlox original brushed on, not thinned. I waited anywhere from 24 to 72 hours between coats and applied perhaps 4-5 coats...only enough to get through the point where the finished look even in gloss. That was five weeks ago and the finish is still very soft. I applied the same amount of finish to a scrap piece just to test rubout techniques and it cannot even be sanded without pilling up into little rubber balls...and it takes almost no effort at all to stand all the way through and strip the finish...it doesn't seem very durable.

Did I simply apply too much or is something else possibly wrong?

[Jeffrey Cole]

How did you apply the waterlox? Sounds like you may have put to much on or did not let each coat dry before applying another.
Jeffrey

[Scott Holmes]

Something is wrong...
Which product did you use? They make several.
Fresh product?
What did you do to the wood prior to applying the Waterlox?
How much did you apply?

Normal finishing terms would be a 2 mil or 3 mil wet film. (sheet of paper thickness) It usually dries to about 1/3 of the wet mil thickness.


At what temp has it been curing?

[David Kuzdrall]

Something is wrong...
Which product did you use? They make several.
Fresh product?
What did you do to the wood prior to applying the Waterlox?
How much did you apply?

Normal finishing terms would be a 2 mil or 3 mil wet film. (sheet of paper thickness) It usually dries to about 1/3 of the wet mil thickness.


At what temp has it been curing?

It is waterlox original sealer/finish. I followed the instructions on the can using a badger bristle brush for application. Hard to know what the film thickness is but it definitely looks thicker than normal. it was actually taking many coats to soak in and get an even Sheen once the solvent had a evaporated out; pobably 4 to 5 coats.

Evaporating and curing has been done in my garage at an average temperature of 68 to 72 with good ventilation during the solvent evaporation stage...odor has long since gone.

[David Kuzdrall]

Prior to finishing, I just sanded to 220.

[David Kuzdrall]

And the gloss never dropped like it did on other pieces I have used it on (different wood type).

I was going to use this finish for some other projects but now I am not so sure. Are there any good alternatives for things like table tops and bathroom vanity tops?

[Scott Holmes]

Fresh product?

Any gelling of the product in the can before you used it?

Or maybe after the first few coats was the produce gelling in the can before the last coat?

Side note: The original sealer finish is a wiping varnish... Even if the directions say use a brush; wipe-on should be no more than getting the surface wet, no puddles no drips or runs. AND no need to go back and forth over the surface multiple times when applying the coat.

[David Kuzdrall]

Fresh product?

Any gelling of the product in the can before you used it?

Or maybe after the first few coats was the produce gelling in the can before the last coat?

Side note: The original sealer finish is a wiping varnish... Even if the directions say use a brush; wipe-on should be no more than getting the surface wet, no puddles no drips or runs. AND no need to go back and forth over the surface multiple times when applying the coat.

Fresh product and after each time I made a pour into my jar I used bloxygen...no gels, even in the remaining material in the can today.

i had horizontal and vertical surfaces to coat and no drips or runs, so while it was applied with a brush I think it was a reasonable amount although it does look thick. There was no reworking or recording while wet... Any less and the gloss wouldn't have been even since it was still soaking into the wood.

[Scott Holmes]

The answer seems to be elusive... How did you remove the sanding dust before recoating?

[David Kuzdrall]

The answer seems to be elusive... How did you remove the sanding dust before recoating?

Vacuumed, then wiped with tack cloth then wiped with blue shop towel soaked in MS to get any residue off.

[Kent A Bathurst]

........... wiped with blue shop towel soaked in MS to get any residue off.

Ruh - roh.

How long did you wait after that wipe-down before next coat? I have the faint sniff of MS residue between coats, mucking up the works.

That flayed me once, so I only use DNA to help remove dust between coats.

[David Kuzdrall]

Ruh - roh.

How long did you wait after that wipe-down before next coat? I have the faint sniff of MS residue between coats, mucking up the works.

That flayed me once, so I only use DNA to help remove dust between coats.

Due to my schedule I waited a few days between the wipe down and the first coat. Most other coats had over a day between them and no ms wiped.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Due to my schedule I waited a few days between the wipe down and the first coat. Most other coats had over a day between them and no ms wiped.

OK. I'm out.

[David Kuzdrall]

I wonder if I don't have a bad batch of waterlox or that there is some compatibility issue with hard maple. I actually have sanded some of the finish off on Sunday and noticed that there is zero penetration into the wood.

Since I will now be painting this piece, I am more concerned for future projects on Walnut and mahogany that there could be some bad material on the shelves.