Spots on walnut table poly finish

[Eddie Ormerod]

I just finished and delivered a walnut table. I had to go back to the couple's house because they noticed spots on the table.
I used PMK woodworking's 50/50 wipe on poly method. I put about 24 thin coats of oil based polyurethane on, then sprayed the last coat.
The spots look like finger tip marks. I sanded the heck out of this table with 80, 120, 150, 180. Nothing was ever spilled or set on the top during sanding and finishing.
I know it's a long shot but does anyone have any idea what went wrong? I feel sick knowing that this happened to this awesome table.

Eddie

[John TenEyck]

If what you are seeing is fingertip marks, I offer a couple of potential reasons. If you see the marks in the top surface then either you touched the surface before it was dry, or you left a fingerprint on the surface before the last coat was applied and it affected how that coat dried/cured. If the marks are not visible on the top surface but, rather, deeper down, then fingerprints got left somewhere along the way and were finished over. I've had that happen with wipe on varnish where I left swirl marks in the first couple of coats, but didn't realize it until much later and after it was much harder to fix. Never did, in one case.

Did you take any photos you'd care to share?

John

[Eddie Ormerod]

It's been awhile since I've been on this site. I'm not sure how to post pics.
The marks look like finger tip marks. I know for sure they're not. I was the only one around the top during the finishing process. I sanded between coats and wiped down with mineral spirits.
I'll check later on how to post pics.

[John TenEyck]

Ok then, if they really are fingertip marks, and you didn't put them there, then someone else did after delivery. How long did you let it cure before you delivered the table? And how long after that was it when the customer called you to inform you of the problem?

I've had two tabletops get "marked" by I-phone rubber pads. I suspect some plasticizer in the rubber is what left a haze in the finish. My phone case has several rubber pads on the bottom. It's not hard to imagine them leaving a mark of some type in a fresh finish. What do your customers put on the table? What do they leave there for hours? If you're confident it was perfect at delivery, the problem most likely happened as a result of something they did/do. The only other possibility I can come up with is something from inside migrated to the surface. I've never seen that happen with an OB varnish, but I guess it might be possible.

How to deal with it becomes a good question now. Doing nothing is always an option, though not a good one if you would like more of their business. My first thought would be to just wait and see if the spots go away on their own. If more spots show up, then it really gets interesting.

Before any action I'd do a customer interview, as tactfully as possible.

John

[Jim Becker]

It's been awhile since I've been on this site. I'm not sure how to post pics....
I'll check later on how to post pics.

Eddie, images, private messaging and the Classifies is available to Contributors. Please click on the "Donate" link at the top of the page to set yourself up for that access. The ask is only $6 per year and it helps keep SMC online and growing.

Jim
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