Polyurethanes: Spray, Wipe-on, or Brush -- Which is Best?

[@stevenrobinson9610]

10/10 video Life is complicated, and you explained these complexions really well....

[@ewilson92]

It is so refreshing to find videos that get right to the point lol

[@SegaCDUniverse]

Tom, thank you so much for all of your videos. About a year ago we had a small extension put on my home and they left a space between the old part of the house and the new part of the house and we had to put a piece of wood threshold in between, your video really helped me go through the process of the best way to polyurethane the threshold. It looks pretty good. Thank you!

[@AlleyPicked]

Glad to help! Thanks for the feedback.

[@christinemcclelland6932]

Thank you for showing us the difference in poly finishes. I will use the brush on for my dining table. I like the tip of buying the spray on at garage sales. How smart!

[@j4god1980]

Like the video. I'm a professional wood finisher. We do 3 steps stain seal topcoat. We use polyurethane on most commercial projects. That all being said. In our system, the sealer does the work. The topcoat is a thin layer. I'm wondering if you were to do a high build sealer, then spray with polyurethane. When it bonds, it will become one.

[@ted1792]

I like the spray for smaller items which is what I do most. Initial cost is more, but no need for brushes and clean up. Less sanding and do overs.

[@seamus6994]

Great comparison.

[@fishhuntadventure]

1:42 & 1:58 & 2:10 I guess I never thought of buying an aerosol can of polyurethane, and I’ve made my own ‘wipe-on’ poly with naphtha. What I was searching on was spraying polyurethane from a gun. Never did before but have a furniture project I thought I’d try spraying because it takes only a minute or two to clean a spray gun, but brushing all the facets and corners of furniture is time consuming and often problematic to maintain the wet edge and avoid lap lines because good polyurethane ‘sets’ so quickly. I was hoping for commentary on the effective leveled coating (which is usually why I might use wipe on for certain pieces). I don’t know how well it flattens out compared to brushing but I guess I’m going to have to find out myself. I’m just worried that spraying thinned and wet enough to flatten/level out from an hvlp since polyurethane is runny for longer than, say, marine topside paint which still flows out and continues to level as it coalesces. Never really occurred to me to buy aerosol can polyurethane… finishes reduced for spraying can be as little as 15-20% product since thinners and propellant take up so much of the can, and the tiny volume and small pattern of the spray nozzle sortof defeats a primary advantage to spraying in a wood shop: time.

[@we317]

Have you tried not sanding between wipe on poly coats, but instead just knocking down the grain/surface with a brown paper (bag or back of a fine grit sandpaper) between coats? This is why I like wipe on poly there is no need to sand off brush strokes between coats.

[@AlleyPicked]

The reason to sand between is not just to make smooth but for bonding purposes also.

[@MarkMcCluney]

I can't remember having seen wipe-on polyurethane for sale here in UK/Ireland - perhaps I've just missed it - but I've been making my own version for a long time by diluting the brush-on version with white spirit (mineral spirit?) I dilute it about half and half and use it for sanding sealer and other fast finish requirements. Whether or not it's cost effective I just don't know. I just throw that in for everyone's consideration.

[@AlleyPicked]

Great idea. I'll have to try that. Thanks Mark!

[@ricohernandez2394]

Hi, Thanks for the video...very informative. What is the best brush for application. I do not want brush marks... I that possible with a brush on poly.?? R

[@AlleyPicked]

Recently, I've been using the Rolling Dog Signature brush and I really like it. I even did a review you can watch: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pWqkdZWtYptkfK8

[@Hardballleather]

What would be best for an ash wood bat. Open grain.

[@brandonhoffman4712]

Now try grabbing a graco airless sprayer (i like the gx18) and drop that brush minwax fast drying in there. Then spray down coats as thick as you brush. Thin your top coat down, take pictures!

[@IonkoGueorguiev]

HVLP spray gun is the best, no question about it.

[@ProfessorPerhaps]

Hey got a question about spray can Polys homie, I’m using Ace hardwares brand of spray Poly & it just says “apply additional coats before 2 or after 72 hours” on the can, so do I need to sand in between coats after waiting the 72 hours or nah? I asked an employee & he said he didn’t think I needed to with the cans as long as I let it fully cure before recoating it but he wasn’t sure, & I haven’t been able to find any solid info online, I just keep finding shit about the wipe/brush on Polys & not the spray cans, so any info would be appreciated

[@AlleyPicked]

You do need to lightly sand between coats after 72 hours. It's not very common, but if you don't sand, the top layer has the potential to peel off. For example, I have a desk that I forgot to sand between coats. When I run my fingernail hard over the top, I can get it to bubble up and peel. My advice, when in doubt, always sand. Any shiny surface including paint needs to be scuffed up.

[@ProfessorPerhaps]

@ Damn true, I ended up respraying it this morning so hopefully I’ll be good, but I’ll make sure to sand between the next coats, but I appreciate the info homie, Like I’m using it on a guitar that I did a crackle paint job on & I’m trying to get a nice thick uniform glossy finish, I mean normally I would’ve just tried to lightly sand a bit before recoating it, but because it’s a textured crackle finish I didn’t think I had a thick enough coat on it after just the first round of poly so I was worried about either sanding through all the Polly &/or messing up the crackle underneath, cuz ngl I had to redo the crackle like 5 times to get it how I wanted & I used all my crackle paint too, so I really didn’t wanna mess that up ya know lol

[@kendalledunkle4822]

My only issue with the brush on is you have to sand it in between coats. I already did all that sanding before hand and i dont wamt to have to do anymore. My project now has hard to reach sanding areas. Its miserable

[@AlleyPicked]

You can also use steel wool. Sanding doesn't need to be perfect.

[@j4god1980]

Sand is the most important part of a nice finish from start to finish.

[@Traditionalsetup]

Salam alaikum 🙏 great 👍👍👍 my dear friend 🙏 from Pakistan 🇵🇰 I'm New friend 🙏

[@hwfranjr]

US A SPRAY GUN FASTER AND BETTER THAN A BRUSH,LOL

[@AlleyPicked]

For a small project, the cleanup with a spray gun takes longer to do that wiping on or brush on poly.

[@hwfranjr]

Ok ding Dong,when ya spray only a fool would use The can,lol,you use a spray gun

[@lahaina4791]

He was talking about consumer spray cans, ding-a-ling. 😂