Poly Users??

[cypher]

Does anyone have a good technique for cleaning pieces finished with poly? I have finished a few pieces and after they have been handled a lot they get fingerprints and marks on them. Any suggestions on what to use to clean them. Should i stick with a soft cloth? what kind? any chemical cleaners that wont hurt the poly?(windex) I normally just wipe down with soft terry colth but some times need to remove sticky finger marks. any suggestions will help!

 

[Wilford Bickel]

I finish 90+% of my pieces with wipe on polyurethane. I put multiple coats of wipe on Poly onto the piece and give it several days to dry and harden. I then buff it with a homemade Beal system using tripoli, white diamond and then Carnauba wax. Then when they get fingerprints all I need is a good buffing with usually just the Carnauba wax.

Wilford

 

[Mike Gould]

I do something similar to Wilford.

I sand a piece to 600# or better. Then I add whatever coloring agent I deem appropriate. By coloring I mean stain, oil, or sometimes a natural color from tea, coffee, or beer. The tea works great on curly maple for bring out the grain. I allow that to dry overnight.

Then wipe on 2-3 coats of wipe-on-poly. I allow each coat to cure for a couple of days. Also I wet sand with water and 600# between coats. I usually use the gloss poly vs. the satin.

After a few more days to cure I buff it. I use 3" bowl buffs and only use the Tripoli then the White Diamond. I don't use wax.

I have found that the wax looks muddy after a few months. Most of my stuff looks great years later with no gooey look to them. And they are as smooth as a babys bottom.

As far as cleaning....I just wipe out dust with a clean soft cloth.

---Nailer---

 

[John Nicholas]

Warm Water

any chemical cleaners that wont hurt the poly?(windex) I normally just wipe down with soft terry colth but some times need to remove sticky finger marks. any suggestions will help!

Why not try hand washing in warm water. Maybe some baby shampoo if you need the soap action. Mild soap. The poly should keep anything sticky out of wood. You just need to get it off the poly.

I would not recommend anything stronger.

You could then rewax, if you had originally applied wax.

John

 

[Jim Ketron]

Use Renaissance Wax after buffing.
works great!

 

[gsieracki]

Perfect timing for me with this question. I just tried some wipe on poly gel for a non woodturned project. I liked it alot better than the brush on and equally well to the wipe on.

It started me thinking about this as a finish for select turned pieces. I never thought of waxing over it or buffing it after the last coat. Will have to try that, especially with the Renassaince Wax. I've used that on some pens after several coats of friction polish and it has held up well.

Thanks!

Gerry