# Polyurethane nightmare... help!



## juliovega914 (Aug 10, 2011)

I have been working for a very long time now on a handmade trophy made from black walnut, stained, and finished with poly.

It took some time but after all of the machining, planing, and shaping I got the whole thing down to a 600 grit sand, stained it (minwax stain), and then went to finish it with poly.

The polyurethane will not dry! I did it in a cool (but not cold) dry basement, and after 24 hours time, it was still tacky, so I brought it into an AC'd room at about 70°F, but to no avail. It has now been about 4 days, and so I figured as a last ditch, I would try to goad it into curing using the oven, and even after 2 hours in at about 130°F it still is as tacky as it was 3 hours after application.

I have checked every reference for poly issues. It is a brand new can of Minwax Fast drying polyurethane, bought from the home depot. It was the finish that was actually recommended on the can of the minwax stain. My only guess is that I got a defective batch.

So, I suppose the best you guys could do to help me would tell me if there is a way of stripping the stuff without sanding it down to bare. Any good chemicals for this, maybe something that wont hurt the stain?

Also, any suggestions for a new finish? I am looking for something shiny, and that compliments the grain of the wood, something that will suit a nice shiny custom made trophy, and ideally something that I could finish in an afternoon because my once safely distant deadline is fast approaching!

Thanks!
-Rich


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Any chemical that will remove the poly will remove the stain. So, if you strip it be prepared to stain again. For a quick dry clear finish, your choices would be a solvent based lacquer, or a water based polyurethane. I would suggest going with the water based polyurethane.










 







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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

I'm with C-man, but I rather nitro lacquer... If you thin it it can be brushed on in several thin coat and be extremely shiny with no buffing... and thin coat dry in about 20-30 min!

~tom ...it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt...


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## juliovega914 (Aug 10, 2011)

I appreciate the help. I happened to be sitting upon a considerable mound of 320 grit, so I used paint thinner to remove the majority of the polyurethane, and then sanded with the 320 grit till I saw natural color. It took a while and I used a lot of paper, but it worked. 

I am trying again with clear gloss lacquer. I will let you know how it goes...


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

juliovega914 said:


> I appreciate the help. I happened to be sitting upon a considerable mound of 320 grit, so I used paint thinner to remove the majority of the polyurethane, and then sanded with the 320 grit till I saw natural color. It took a while and I used a lot of paper, but it worked.
> 
> I am trying again with clear gloss lacquer. I will let you know how it goes...


If you apply solvent based lacquer on top of any remaining oil base polyurethane, there can be a reaction causing crazing, and peeling. It may not happen immediately. You won't have that problem with water based polyurethane.












 







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## H. A. S. (Sep 23, 2010)

That trophy may get a lot of handling, you can strip and use oil based stain and poly. Used that combo on a few guitars I built as a teenager, think I used around 18-20 coats. Sold the guitars, but I'm sure they are holding up to this day. Maybe.:yes:


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## Tom5151 (Nov 21, 2008)

I'm with C-man....WB poly....


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