When and How to Wipe On Polyurethane - Refinishing Furniture

Wipe on polyurethane. Let me teach you when and how to wipe on polyurethane. This is a complete start to finish guide to achieving the perfect polyurethane finish for your project. Brushing falt surfaces is easy but what about round surfaces like spindles on a railing or legs on a table or chair? This is when wipe on polyurethanes come in handy but BE CAREFUL. Not only is a can of wipe on polyurethane 3 times the cost of regular polyurethane it contains thinners so the concentration of actual polyurethane in the wipe polyurethane could be cut in half. This brings the cost difference somewhere close to 6 times the cost of regular polyurethane!!
Cost aside if you brush half of your project and switch to a store bought wipe on polyurethane they probably won't match! Let's make a batch ourselves and rest assured they will match while simultanteously saving money. That alone is worth a cup of coffee (see below).

Please leave comments. I really do love to hear from y'all.

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0:00 Intro - When to WIPE ON Polyurethane vs BRUSHING ON polyurethane
1:40 Materials You'll Need to Wipe On Polyurethane
3:40 Sanding Before Applying the First Coat of olyurethane
3:50 The Right Grade of Sandpapers
6:13 Ways to Properly Remove Surface Dust before wiping on polyurethane
8:05 Thinning is essential to create a Wipe On Polyurethane
9:50 Thinning Water Based vs Oil Based polyurethane for Wiping On
12:24 How to WIPE ON polyurethane
13:47 How to Avoid Polyurethane Bubbling
16:55 Dry time for Wipe On Polyurethane
18:58 How to dfeal with Grain Raise after First Coat of polyurethane
20:41 Why overnight dry is important in polyurethane applications
21:31 Dust removal alternatives
22:01 Second Coat of Wipe On polyurethane
24:23 The Finished Product (BAD PUN)

VIDEOS:
Project Preparation:
Finishing:
Clean Up:

ARTICLES:
Project Preparation:
Step by Step Guide to Refinishing Furniture

Sanding Efficiently

Finishing:
Choosing the Right Clear Wood Finish

How To Apply Tung Oil Properly

When and How to Wipe On Polyurethane

How to Apply Boiled Linseed Oil - Tips and Technique

[danielhardy]

I have learned more about woodworking from you in the last 8 hours than I have learned from any other channel in the last 2 years. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.

[techguy]

I’m refinishing a 103-year-old beautiful table. Your videos are wonderful. Thank you so much!

[shelbyhoover]

This channel will end up being the best thing that ever happened to my kitchen cabinets! You’re so incredibly informative and I appreciate this so much.

[musemi]

I feel so grateful for finding your channel. I’m hooked to it, I’m watching all your videos for days now 😂 I learned so much from you and I really really appreciate that. Thank you so much, God bless you.

[lindadegraef]

I just store my tshirt rag in the covered container with the thinned poly and use it repeatedly until I have my desired number of Poly coats. I saturate my rag in the poly and squeeze out the access. I use a larger rag and my entire hand to feel the contours of the spindle as if I’m washing it. Never any drips or issues, I re coat within hours! I also have used the wipe on rag method on large flat surfaces sometimes after laying my first coat with a brush but not always. This method is so fast, I can coat a piece nearly as fast as spraying it on. So easy and fool proof for me!

[rubyshort]

Thank you Paul for all your advice and years of knowledge. It feels like such a blessing to have access to such golden advice and techniques. I came from watching your other how to apply polyurethane video. And this has helped me so much. Going from a tacky and thick finish with lots of imperfections, to a smooth and natural looking finish with no dust or puddling. Thank you so much Paul. You've made this information so easy to access and understand. Bless you for making such educational videos.

[glytch]

I like that super thick almost glass plastic look. I think it comes from purchasing instruments over the years. Love that big lacquer like gloss buildup.

[parrottism]

I know so many people who like the thick poly look, but I'm happy to know now how to thin as I can do so much more with it, thank you! (I prefer the thinned out versions myself). Also, thank you for the demonstration, I'm always nervous to try something new without seeing it done by someone with experience. I've been looking for a channel like this 👍

[irenedodd]

I wish I had seen this video before. I am also struggling with water based poly. It looks good when I first put it on, then it streaks. I sand it but haven’t added water. I might get the oil based and try that. Brilliant video, I have learnt lots. Thank you

[kennethanderson]

Building a new desk and was wondering about finishing. Heard about wipe-on poly but never knew anything about it. I now know how i'm going to do the finish. Thanks for the info. Liked and subscribed.

[vnsorfd]

Great video (I'm currently doing some 1927 Queensland Maple on a ship's cabin restoration). Liked the pad technique - We call these pads a "mouse". Also in Au, WHS prevents us from storing paints, etc. in 2nd hand food containers - I use jam jars or similar with labels removed. I also tip the jar upside down for a second to help seal the lid. This reduces the skin formation that you get when you can't get back to the shop for a few days. I also use 800 grit wet and dry to take off the dust. I also am in a multi-user workshop - I stay back a bit and also turn off the wood saws and sander at the wall just in case someone wants to dust up the shop late in the day. I also drill a hole in the brush handle and store my best varnish brush with a nail across the turps can - I am doing an entire compartment on a ship and need the brush to be ready quickly as my time is limited and precious. I also arrive early on the next workday to stack away my many large panels and doors - Can't trust my workmates to look after my just varnished work.

I also invert the can for an hour or so before use. My neighbour was an enamel expert - He would always warm the paint/varnish to help reduce brush marks and improve the cover.

[msmeryb]

Please make more videos about furniture, fixing and sanding details. These videos are soooo good, thanks.

[sandiswiss]

Thanks for this great and informative video! I am getting ready to poly my first project since middle school shop class and I am excited. The info on the steel wool was especially helpful.

[WilliamDonaldson-lm]

Great work here. I will use the technics described here. Thank you

[TwiggyGrant]

Hello Paul 👋 Wonderful video. It takes me back to my dad in his shop.
I was looking for any mention by pros like you of an issue I ran into while refinishing a dining table top for my daughter. It had a few water and heat marks and she wanted it a different stain color to make it her own. Anyway I think she went overboard sanding near the edge after I stained it bc after applying some shellac to seal it before applying a bit of toner, to darken the edge where it is exposed grain that doesn’t absorb the stain evenly, I see the edge has sort of billowed up on the edge in a few spots so I gently sanded it down but it popped back up worse after I reapplied stain there to re-darken.

I’m not sure if she pierced the veneer and/or what to do about it.
I know if I poly it, it’ll wear off on the raised area and look awful. My dad taught me well but I’ve never seen this. He passed a few years ago and I’m not sure how to proceed. I don’t know if I I need to use a razor to remove the excess and then use wood fill/putty or wood epoxy to seal in the edge so it doesn’t pop back up or what. We both worked hard on it and I’m just at a loss how to proceed! Any advice is greatly appreciated —Thanks, 😊 Lisa

Ps. Dad had used a specific product I can’t get here but was like the Mohawk Rockhard table polyurethane (which I also can’t get here) so I got General Finishes Arm-R seal oil based poly. I use Varathane or Minwax oil based polys on regular furniture but really am uneasy about not using a specific table top product on this table (since she’s the one who caused those water & heat stains to begin with 😂). If you have any suggestions please feel free to share them.

[Gregory-quct]

I've been doing it all wrong. Awesome video.

[matthewyu]

This video helped me a lot.
Thank you very much.

[leahhorvat]

Such a great tutorial !!! So pleased...keep up the great work..thankyou for sharing your valuable wisdom of so many years of experience..kind regards from New Zealand.💎

[jamespatrick]

Man that was a good video as I learned so much!

[tonyv]

Always a learning experience watching your vids, thanks for posting