Post #112226 by Octane on Fri, Sep 3, 2004 10:09 AM

i have been told that Polyurathane is the best of the finishes today. It is the newest latest technology.

I have been experimenting with varnish on the last few tikis because Ben and others have said that is what they use or used.

I don't put Polyurathane down before Varnish, i either do one or the other. I have used Polyurathane on all my tikis before i started expermenting with varnish. sorry for the confusion.

I brush on all my finishes including stain. i haven't tried the spray yet.

Sanding between coats: it all depends on how well you sand before you get to the finish. the smoother the prep sanding is the smoother the grit you will need between coats. you will always have to sand between coats, as the clear finishes, actually make the hairs and grain of the wood stand up, and then freezes them so you can sand them off and it will stay smooth for the next coats.

Polyurathane: if it is a smaller project i like to use steel wool (OO). the back of the Ployurathane says to use 220 grit but i found that i will tend to sand through with this grit.

Varnish: I don't sand it until i have 2 coats on, then i use 220 grit, and sand lightly, after 48 hours worth of drying. the can says 24 hrs, but i have found twice now that there can be little spots, and are a little gooey so i just wait an extra day to be cautious.

palm hairs: there are so many different palms and they all have their own charateristics. even different fan palms. the palm i have does the oppisate of yours, the older it gets the hairier it seems to get. no matter what the palm i would still recoment a finish with a heavery weight like poyurathane or varnish, so if there are hairs (which might not be prelevent until after clear) it can matt them down, and after a few coats it will give a good amount of material to sand for a smoother finish.

staining: i put the first coat on, and as the back of the can says wipe/rub off the extra, then right after that i get the darker stain out. this time i apply with a rag. rub on the dark stain, then imediatly rum it off. you can always go darker with stain, but you can't go lighter, so you just want to get a little darkness on there so you have to wipe it off fast, otherwise the longer the stain has to penatrate the darker and darker it will get.