Applying wipe on poly

[Sam Fleisher]

I usually cut old t-shirts into squares and use them for my wipe on poly application. This last time I thought I'd cut up an old pillow case too, bad idea. Everything is covered with fuzz/threads from the pillow case after washing.

So being curious I searched for lint free cotton cloth on Amazon and bunches of make up remover and applicators show up. Advertised as lint free and 100 percent cotton. Has anyone tried these before or even use these as an applicator for wipe on poly?

I know they aren't very big but neither are the squares of t shirt I use. A bunch of them doesn't cost much but before I end up with 1200 of the things in my shop and me not having any finger nail polish or make up to remove I wanted to see if this is a good idea?

Fyi the wipe on says to use a lint free cotton fabric

 

[David Shombert]

I've used wipe-on poly (Minwax) for years, and have always used the blue "shop towels", as they're called, that all auto parts and Walmart carry. I stack up four or five, then cut them all together into quadrants. Use one square - one-fourth of a full towel - to apply it and wipe of the excess with a couple more of the same towels. There's no lint. This has worked well for me for many years.

 

[Sam Fleisher]

I've used wipe-on poly (Minwax) for years, and have always used the blue "shop towels", as they're called, that all auto parts and Walmart carry. I stack up four or five, then cut them all together into quadrants. Use one square - one-fourth of a full towel - to apply it and wipe of the excess with a couple more of the same towels. There's no lint. This has worked well for me for many years.

Are you talking about the paper towel like blue towels? Or the actual fabric ones?

 

[Dave Hulett]

I usually cut old t-shirts into squares and use them for my wipe on poly application. This last time I thought I'd cut up an old pillow case too, bad idea. Everything is covered with fuzz/threads from the pillow case after washing.

So being curious I searched for lint free cotton cloth on Amazon and bunches of make up remover and applicators show up. Advertised as lint free and 100 percent cotton. Has anyone tried these before or even use these as an applicator for wipe on poly?

I know they aren't very big but neither are the squares of t shirt I use. A bunch of them doesn't cost much but before I end up with 1200 of the things in my shop and me not having any finger nail polish or make up to remove I wanted to see if this is a good idea?

Fyi the wipe on says to use a lint free cotton fabric

I have used my own solution of wipe on poly for years. 50% mineral spirits, 50% gloss poly. At the suggestion from one of our club members I've been using these lint free solvent cloths I bought from a local auto parts store. I cut them up to 4-6" squares, wrap them around a cotton ball, soak the cotton and wipe on while wearing disposable gloves. works wonders. Paid around $30 but a box has lasted me about 8 years.

 

[Richard Coers]

Bounty paper towels are my favorite. But, I stopped using wipe on poly years ago when Minwax changed the viscosity of their Rapid Dry Polyurethane. I fold up the paper towels like a french polish pad and apply it right out of the can.

 

[Peter D'Attomo]

o being curious I searched for lint free cotton cloth on Amazon and bunches of make up remover and applicators show up. Advertised as lint free and 100 percent cotton. Has anyone tried these before or even use these as an applicator for wipe on poly?

Tried those did not have success. Still had some lint.

 

[Doug Freeman]

I’ve used Scott blue shop towels (paper) for many years for wipe on poly.

 

[Dave Bunge]

I don't use wipe on poly very often. But when I do, I use foam "wedges" that are sold as make-up applicators. https://www.amazon.com/FantaSea-Lat...asea+latex+free+foam+wedges,beauty,121&sr=1-1

There were a lot of people making glossy hollow forms and posting on SMC when I started turning. Wipe on poly applied with these wedges seemed to be the go to method of finishing at the time. I've had decent luck. They work well for applying thin, consistent layer. No issue with lint. They cost about 10 cents each.

 

[Sam Fleisher]

I don't use wipe on poly very often. But when I do, I use foam "wedges" that are sold as make-up applicators. https://www.amazon.com/FantaSea-Latex-Free-Wedges-100-count/dp/B0035LCSCO/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2JVT2E9IXJ4QF&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.RfHBNlzFJgYtVdZab2N3d2530NA50YOsnqjxBbkSXEWUNGPm5_BBZOPXZ0PhrXZyZdLXV6KYr2yxJaOouXqV8O4MfM9OXXSF_IIwle1e7QgGs7_HSWlnjNqoxq7ZPLxuRZs9M4bdQZvVi1SQiuiAbkBE5FdoZqSp_6kMQd888unwVg778A556zRZ3WVyUg5ASL2uVzcyyqBRLUeUeuF7YrzQYJIaE-ihjZCiyrO5QlzatRpvoRwcEzx3L2TZWhvFOm1Enic-_ZThyT17DWYZDhkiRFQQ_SQ4YlmxTWxS9j4.d-XtYMl01WT5hvdURTAXdMfQZ6rsa-ddq_tZ3D93Nbs&dib_tag=se&keywords=FantaSea+Latex+Free+Foam+Wedges&qid=1724510989&s=beauty&sprefix=fantasea+latex+free+foam+wedges,beauty,121&sr=1-1

There were a lot of people making glossy hollow forms and posting on SMC when I started turning. Wipe on poly applied with these wedges seemed to be the go to method of finishing at the time. I've had decent luck. They work well for applying thin, consistent layer. No issue with lint. They cost about 10 cents each.

I wonder if these are the same as a melamine sponge? (Mr clean magic eraser)

I have some of those because a guy at klingspor recommended them for applying dye. I ended up not using for dye because they crumbled. Maybe from being cheap Chinese knock offs or maybe the dye does something to them. I'll have to give them a try for wipe on. Guess I got stuck on using a cotton cloth but I'll try anything. Just look at my "what's on your lathe!" lol

 

[Sam Fleisher]

Well, it was kind of a first for me. I did a different technique without buying a bunch of stuff.

I used some of the blue roll towels cut into fourths that I had on hand but never used. Wrapped one around a cotton ball and it seemed to work pretty well. No lint or fuzz that I could see.

The blue towels I won in a club raffle and the cotton balls I found in the bathroom cabinet so zero cost for this trial.

 

[David Shombert]

Are you talking about the paper towel like blue towels? Or the actual fabric ones?

Yes, exactly. The ones I get (at Advance Auto) are actually labeled "Shop Towels", and I've seen them under that name at other stores.

 

[Kevin Jenness]

I use WypAlls, white shop towels that come in a box. No loose threads, no color to potentially leach out, durableWypall and they come in different weights.

 

[Kevin Weir]

I use Minwax wipe-on poly about 80% of the time. My go-to applicator is a 1 x 3 inch piece of an old terry cloth towel that has been washed many times. I get the odd piece of little lint but I can simply blow it off the surface. Flick the applicator before wetting it to dislodge most of the lint from the cutting of the towel. Usually get about 100 small pieces from a small towel.

 

[Sam Fleisher]

I'm pretty happy with the new to me technique of the blue towels with a cotton ball folded up in it. The people eater ended up with probably ten coats because it kept soaking in. Only the last three were with the new applicator method though.

 

[Doug Freeman]

I'm pretty happy with the new to me technique of the blue towels with a cotton ball folded up in it. The people eater ended up with probably ten coats because it kept soaking in. Only the last three were with the new applicator method though.

Try this technique on your next w/o poly piece. I use regular poly thinned 1:1 - not sure just what you are using. Flood the surface of the piece, and keep it wet for 10-20 min. Wipe off the surface, let dry a few hrs. Check for bleed out and wipe off. Repeat. Now the wood is completely sealed and ready for additional coats to build a film thickness.

 

[Sam Fleisher]

Try this technique on your next w/o poly piece. I use regular poly thinned 1:1 - not sure just what you are using. Flood the surface of the piece, and keep it wet for 10-20 min. Wipe off the surface, let dry a few hrs. Check for bleed out and wipe off. Repeat. Now the wood is completely sealed and ready for additional coats to build a film thickness.

That's kind of what I had been doing previously on some only I don't think I was waiting long enough after the initial coat and it was preventing the next coats from drying right.

On this bowl I flooded it pretty good but not till it quit soaking in and then I let it dry for a day. Then started putting more coats on it.

My thinking was it would kind of seal down in the grain and maybe not soak up so much on the next coats. And that didn't work so well. Still put a lot of coats on and just scuffed it again a little bit ago and put another on after this picture of yesterday . There were a couple of spots that I didn't like. Overall it would have been fine but I like the color on this one so I tried again.

My luck is hit and miss. I turn a lot of walnut and sometimes I'll get a good finish with one coat. Other times it's like this hackberry and sometimes never develops a good surface.

I figure about the time I get this finishing thing figured out I'll be too old to do any more turning!

 

[hughie]

I've used wipe-on poly (Minwax) for years, and have always used the blue "shop towels", as they're called, that all auto parts and Walmart carry. I stack up four or five, then cut them all together into quadrants. Use one square - one-fourth of a full towel - to apply it and wipe of the excess with a couple more of the same towels. There's no lint. This has worked well for me for many years.

likewise

 

[Dean Center]

Congratulations on finding a solution, Sam. I'm wondering what value the cotton balls add. Maybe just a plain square of the paper towel would work as well.

 

[Sam Fleisher]

Congratulations on finding a solution, Sam. I'm wondering what value the cotton balls add. Maybe just a plain square of the paper towel would work as well.

I thought it might hold more poly that way. It probably doesn't have any value and I'll probably try one without but it's worked so far and didn't cost anything for a change.

Except today I've put two more coats on this bowl and I still found a little spot a little bit ago but I'm giving up and going to hope I can buff it into submission or might just leave it alone. I'm at like 14 coats I think on this thing. Right under the light reflection on the left side.

 

[Doug Freeman]

@Sam Fleisher for a fully filled smooth as glass finish, what I like to call a “piano finish”, spray solvent lacquer is your friend. I like sherwin williams cab acrylic non yellowing (it is solvent base not wb). Target Coatings has a great wb lacquer EM6000. Steve Sinner has a utube vid for applying poly for a fully filled finish - he uses minwax spar varnish with a foam brush. I talked with him a few years ago, he said he tried a lot of different poly finishes and the mw worked out best. He does gallery pieces this way.

 

[Sam Fleisher]

@Sam Fleisher for a fully filled smooth as glass finish, what I like to call a “piano finish”, spray solvent lacquer is your friend. I like sherwin williams cab acrylic non yellowing (it is solvent base not wb). Target Coatings has a great wb lacquer EM6000. Steve Sinner has a utube vid for applying poly for a fully filled finish - he uses minwax spar varnish with a foam brush. I talked with him a few years ago, he said he tried a lot of different poly finishes and the mw worked out best. He does gallery pieces this way.

I also use the helmsman spar on my canes after I watched the sinner video. I modified the technique a little and I apply way too much but if my fingers are crossed along with my tongue in the corner of my mouth I'll get good results.

For me, the way I use the spar I couldn't get what I call good results on a bowl. My lathe will only go down to 50-60 rpms and on a cane which is small and mostly straight that's fine. Bowl shapes because I apply too much it tends to end up I guess in the high surface speed areas. If I applied sparingly and put multiple coats it would work but I'm impatient and slather it on. Like I said that works on canes not bowls. I have left a cane spinning 6 hours at 50 rpms before just to be sure I don't get a sag or run. 6 hours is still quicker overall than applying multiple coats of the spar.

So, that's why I mostly use Danish oil on my bowls and here lately I've been using the wipe on so I can get a shinier finish on some of them especially the dyed ones to lock in the dye.

For lacquer I've done a little rattle can but my results were similar to the wipe on. It would soak in and I'd end up using 2-3 cans on one bowl. Hard to justify putting $10-$20 of finish on a $30 dollar bowl.

 

[Jesús Arocho]

I usually cut old t-shirts into squares and use them for my wipe on poly application. This last time I thought I'd cut up an old pillow case too, bad idea. Everything is covered with fuzz/threads from the pillow case after washing.

So being curious I searched for lint free cotton cloth on Amazon and bunches of make up remover and applicators show up. Advertised as lint free and 100 percent cotton. Has anyone tried these before or even use these as an applicator for wipe on poly?

I know they aren't very big but neither are the squares of t shirt I use. A bunch of them doesn't cost much but before I end up with 1200 of the things in my shop and me not having any finger nail polish or make up to remove I wanted to see if this is a good idea?

Fyi the wipe on says to use a lint free cotton fabric

I have used the blue shop towels with wipe-on poly successfully. Also have lint free cheesecloth on hand (from Lee Valley).