It's my understanding and my experience that all the Waterlox Original products are the same thing, it's just a matter of solids content. The original sealer will build gloss, it just takes more coats; maybe a lot more. That's kind of what I like about it. The more coats, the more gloss, so you can control how much gloss you end up with.
Oil or water poly for home bar?
Hey guys - longtime lurker, first time poster; great forum you've got here.
I recently built a basement bar out of some lumber I that salvaged from a couple old church pews and an altar. Decided to keep it natural (no stain), so next step is poly.
The oil-based product I typically use turns this wood (I was told poplar?) significantly "redder." I've tried some other polys, including water-based ones, and the one that changes the wood the least is Minwax Polychrylic. I like the color, but the sheen, overall appearance, etc. is lacking. Plus, I'm just hesitant to use a water-based finish on a bar -- even if I do 5-6 coats. I can live with the color of the oil-based poly if it will provide significantly more protection (which I suspect it might). So my questions:
Thanks for the input and all your help. Below is a pic of a scrap piece of wood with the two stains. Inside triangle section is the polychrylic, outer "L" section is the oil poly. Natural wood is in between (and original stain that I removed is up top). Also posting a pic of the bar as an FYI.
![Brown Rectangle Wood Floor Flooring]()
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I recently built a basement bar out of some lumber I that salvaged from a couple old church pews and an altar. Decided to keep it natural (no stain), so next step is poly.
The oil-based product I typically use turns this wood (I was told poplar?) significantly "redder." I've tried some other polys, including water-based ones, and the one that changes the wood the least is Minwax Polychrylic. I like the color, but the sheen, overall appearance, etc. is lacking. Plus, I'm just hesitant to use a water-based finish on a bar -- even if I do 5-6 coats. I can live with the color of the oil-based poly if it will provide significantly more protection (which I suspect it might). So my questions:
- Should I risk using the polychrylic on a bar? Or should I just suck it up and use the oil-based poly?
- If I go with polychrylic, is there any way to make it look richer? Will multiple coats do the trick? The sample below has two coats of gloss, and it still looks duller and less vibrant than one coat of the oil based product.
- Are you guys aware of any oil-based poly that would turn the wood less red?
- Any other thoughts/considerations?
Thanks for the input and all your help. Below is a pic of a scrap piece of wood with the two stains. Inside triangle section is the polychrylic, outer "L" section is the oil poly. Natural wood is in between (and original stain that I removed is up top). Also posting a pic of the bar as an FYI.
