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Oil or water poly for home bar?

1K views 21 replies 7 participants last post by  Jay_L 
#1 ·
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:

  • 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.

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#7 ·
The polycrylic isn't near as hard and durable and on oil based poly. You could enhance the grain by applying a natural stain. These contain linseed oil and mineral spirits. Using polycrylic let the stain dry a couple days before putting polycrylic over the top. Linseed oil and water based finishes are incompatible with each other so you have to allow the linseed oil to dry completely before using a water based finish.

One characteristic of oil based finishes is they tend to yellow with age. You might consider this when choosing an oil based varnish. Not sure why you are having issues with oil based varnish turning the wood red unless some of the existing stain is giving it the red color. Anyway you can neutralize the red color and make the wood more brown by staining the wood with a green dye. It would take some tinkering with it to get the right formula that it would make the wood brown without it looking green. This is something that should be sprayed on at low pressure. Try it on some scrap wood first. Just keep in mind it looks like nothing when you put it on so your instincts are telling you to put another coat on. If you do the wood will be green. Better to not put enough on than too much and you can also use it between the coats of finish when you varnish it if you didn't get enough. I use this dye. Mohawk | Ultra® Penetrating Stain MA520-2036
 
#9 ·
The polycrylic isn't near as hard and durable and on oil based poly. You could enhance the grain by applying a natural stain. These contain linseed oil and mineral spirits. Using polycrylic let the stain dry a couple days before putting polycrylic over the top. Linseed oil and water based finishes are incompatible with each other so you have to allow the linseed oil to dry completely before using a water based finish.

One characteristic of oil based finishes is they tend to yellow with age. You might consider this when choosing an oil based varnish. Not sure why you are having issues with oil based varnish turning the wood red unless some of the existing stain is giving it the red color. Anyway you can neutralize the red color and make the wood more brown by staining the wood with a green dye. It would take some tinkering with it to get the right formula that it would make the wood brown without it looking green. This is something that should be sprayed on at low pressure. Try it on some scrap wood first. Just keep in mind it looks like nothing when you put it on so your instincts are telling you to put another coat on. If you do the wood will be green. Better to not put enough on than too much and you can also use it between the coats of finish when you varnish it if you didn't get enough. I use this dye. Mohawk | Ultra® Penetrating Stain MA520-2036
Good ideas. Will def try the natural stain on a scrap, as well as the green dye + poly. Thanks!
 
#10 ·
I am currently working on a project out of cherry. I will finish it with Waterlox Original Sealer Finish. I love the look of this product alone (no stain) over the cherry. While it enhances the color and grain of the wood, it is on the brown side rather than red. You can order 2 oz samples from them for $9 and give it a try. Waterlox claims to be for floors and counter tops. I have no first hand experience with that application. So. you will need to get more information on relative hardness and alcohol resistance, but you might like the look.
 
#21 ·
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.
 
#22 · (Edited)
As per discussion w/Jay Hawkins @ Waterlox a number of years ago, the original gloss contains a different polymer and is an entirely different beast, and the original gloss cannot be maintained or over coated with the lower sheen formulations due to incompatibility.
Edit: …however over coating the lesser sheen with the gloss is fine.
 
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