Mixing water based poly finishes....?

[Roy Wall]

Hey all,

Just about to use up my last can of General Finishes WB poly - supposedly the hardest finishing of its kind....good for floors, etc..

Well, I was just getting lazy, as I can go 1 mile to Lowes and get OLYMPICS new WB Poly tonight......or drive the 20 miles to Woodcraft and get the General tomorrow. Just wondering if there is any problem with this....I wouldn't think so...but just double checking...Perhaps it won't dry as hard as the General brand.....but I don't think its that big a deal.

So I guess I'm asking about a coat or two of brand A, followed by another coat or two of Brand B....but still the same type of finish (Water Base)

These are for Lunch Box / backpack shelving units I'm making for 3 classes of 3rd graders....so they do need to be durable. I've used the General WB on the 2nd grade sets last year...and two years ago used Miniwax wipe-on Oil based poly for the 1st grade years.....all is well so far...

[Jim Becker]

They may very well be different formulations with different properties. While these are ALL acrylics, it's conceivable that there is the possibility of incompatibility if you directly mix them together. You probably wouldn't have a problem overcoating one brand with another with proper surface preparation.

Water borne "poly" isn't as "durable" as oil-based in some senses, but is fine for your project, IMHO. Polyurethane resins add a little bit of abrasion resistance in theory, but the acrylics are certainly good finishes.

[Roy Wall]

Jim -

Thanks! The local HD has Minwax WB for floors (same application specialty as the General advertises...)....so I'll go with that. A little 400 grit between coats and I should be good to go. I think I'll get a chocolate shake on the way

I've got two coats of the General WB on for now....This way I can get another coat on tonight - couple tomorrow - install on Monday!!

[Howard Acheson]

Jim -

Thanks! The local HD has Minwax WB for floors (same application specialty as the General advertises...)....so I'll go with that. A little 400 grit between coats and I should be good to go. I think I'll get a chocolate shake on the way

I've got two coats of the General WB on for now....This way I can get another coat on tonight - couple tomorrow - install on Monday!!

Keep in mind that waterborne acrylics dry/cure in two steps. The first is the evaporation of the water. At this point the other chemicals within the finish begin to coelesce, or melt together, forming the film. This film can take 1-3 weeks to fully cure and develope full strength and adhesion. It's best to keep everything off the floor for a week. Then you can move furniture back (no rugs yet) putting small carpet pads under the legs. You can also walk on it in bare feet for the next couple of weeks. At that time you can remove the carpet pads and reinstall rugs.