[cabinetman]

I am still fairly new to woodworking and finishing my first end tables. I used red oak because I got a it for a good deal. My question is how many coats of minwax fast drying poly do you guys usually apply to the top for good protection? I applied the poly uncut with a foam brush, the finish is nice and smooth but I can see a few small pin holes in the areas with a lot of grain. I have about 5 coats on now, can too many coats cause problems? Thanks Jim

It's likely you left some bubbles with a foam brush. Try thinning the poly about 25% with mineral spirits. Sand the finish with 320x, (with the grain direction) and wipe on the finish with a clean lint free cloth folded in a neat pad.

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[cabinetman]

Thanks for all the replies. I have thinned the poly about 50/50 before and wiped on with good results and I will do that for my final coat. My basement is a little cool right now so I am going to wait awhile before applying any more finish. So if I where to use fillers on pours woods (oak) that I wanted to stain would mixing an oil based paste filler with an oil based stain give me good results?

Grain fillers/paste wood fillers work good as they come. They are available in "natural", and in colors. They take stain very well when dry. They could be mixed with stain. Fillers are available in solvent (oil) base and water base, so, make sure what you're mixing is compatible.

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