HELP !!! Spar Urethane gone bad!

Ok so I'm a little panicked right now. I finished staining my Tiki Saturday.
Last night I bought some Varithane spar urethane out door clear satin. I applied a thick coat in my garage around 9 pm.
It looked even and glossy. I went to bed.

I woke up this morning to huge patches of milky grey spots in the crevices and a few other patches where it was laid on thicker.
Thinking it was ruined I called the customer service number on the can. They told me some moisture had probably gotten into it over night (Duh).
They said to try treating it with denatured alcohol. So I ran up to HD and picked up a gallon and started applying it.

It seems to help a little bit. You can actually see small water droplets form while/just after its evaporating. When its wet with the alcohol it turns much clearer. But as it dried its going back to the blush. Especially in the crevices where it was thickest.
During a second call to customer service it was suggested I lightly sand the finish to break it open. This is great in theory but I just cant sand the deep crevices like that.

Customer service told me that part of the problem could be that the satin isnt made for rough surfaces and a second coat might smooth it out and help.
Because of the way it looks when I coat it in the alcohol (mostly clear but opaque when it evaporates again) I'm wondering if a second coat of spar will melt back into the finish and eliminate/help this problem? I dont want to make it worse. At the same time I dont want to wait too long and let this fully cure and seal in the problem forever.

I cant believe this happened. All those hours of work just to ruin it in the end.

Anyone done this and have any advice or suggestions?

burn it!

I stopped using that brand a while ago because it pretty much sucked...I've had better results with the ACE brand spar.

However, I can see a few problems in your application of it as well.

"Last night I bought some Varithane spar urethane out door clear satin.I applied a thick coat in my garage around 9 pm"

Next time, put the spar on in the morning on the warmest, dryest day possible. It was actually drizzly on the coast over here last night and this morning. You're a little drier out there, but it's still way to moist to be doing that. Cloudy, cold, and damp weather will mess with the drying process. A sunny day and it will be dry to the touch in 3-6 hours, on days like we have today, it could take as long 2-3 days. You should keep it at least 70 degrees and dry for best results

"I applied a thick coat in my garage around 9 pm.
It looked even and glossy"

It just hurts me to read that. you should do several very thin coats instead. The first I do with spar doesn't even look like it was finished at all. It should take on its sealed finished look after about the third coat. If you look at the way the thick spar dries on the rim of your can, you'll see what happens to the tone of the spar when it is too thick to dry right. That's probably what is happening to you right now. Sometimes it will happen if your second coat gets sealed between the first and third without drying all the way. that will usually discolor about a month or so after you do it wrong. It's like a tiki finishing time bomb! Hope it doesn't happen like that after you sell it or pass it on...

" All those hours of work just to ruin it in the end."

Yep. And unfortunately, you know exactly what not to do next time. If it was that easy, eveyone would make perfectly carved and finshed tikis every time.

I always do a few quick "test" carvings before I use any new stain or finsh type or brand. that way, if something unforseen happens, I'm only out a few hours work, rather than several days.

If it was me, I'd go get some stripper, and start all over again.

You've been working on that tiki for about 6-7 months now? What's another few days of refinishing?

Buzzy Out!

Thanks Buzz.

The thing that really sucks is I know better. I dont know what I was thinking. I wasnt thinking.

So you think stripping is the only way to go at this point?

Here are some pics.

I cant even begin to tell you how bummed I am right now. Nice dark cloud over my day.

[ Edited by: SDshirtman 2010-09-21 12:30 ]

Gotta agree with everything Buzzy said - the first few coats should be very thin. If the stuff is thick, thin it out - this will help the palm soak the finish into the wood (not sit on top of). Sand lightly in between coats and take your time. It takes more time and effort to fix something, rather than to slowly finish a carving that has taken months. Finishing seems to be the easiest aspect of carving when in fact its the hardest! There are way to many things that can go wrong just to jump in and hope its done in a few hours. Stains, oils, urethane, burning, painting - ALWAYS use a scrap piece of wood to practice on!!!!!

I've had good luck using a heat gun on the milky areas in the past...seems to quick cure them and remove the milkey look almost immediately. Give it a try...

Thanks. I'm off to harbor freight for a heat gun. I'll let you know how it goes. I hope this works. wish me luck.

Tried the heat gun. No dice.

Back to bummed.

Ditto what Buzzy said about waiting for a hot sunny day next time. And thinning down. I've used mineral spirits to thin it. Sorry that doesn't help for this tiki, but if it were mine, I would put it out in the sun (if you have some) for a week, bringing it indoors at night. It might clear it up, can't hurt!

Thanks Bill. The customer service rep said to try the same thing.

I did pick an inconspicuous spot and tried adding some more urethane over it and it helped somewhat. But not much in the cracks.

Eventually I'll fix this.
Since I burned this one I may just wait and try air brushing some black paint in some of the crevices and see if that helps mask things.
That will have to do because I aint stripping it.

In the meantime I'll just let him sit for a while in the sun all day for a week or so as suggested and see if I get lucky.
I guess thats all I can do.

I'm off to the pub for a pint to cheer up. After all there are for worse things happening in the world then me botching the finish on my tiki.

[ Edited by: sdshirtman 2010-10-01 19:23 ]

Oh I'm very sorry. but this is what people call experience, all great carvers has it, that includes the cutting yourself part too. think about it that way, now you can join the club of the great carvers that survived all, and kept going, that makes a real great artist, no not making mistakes.. much aloha to you :). (isn't there a solvent you can use to make the coat thinner applying it with a brush and taking out the excess with a cloth?)

There is a cure. Sanding - yes, the one thing that you probably want to avoid, but truly the best way to "fix" it. The good thing is that you can use a coarse grit for quick removal. If you are concerned with losing the burnt areas, don't be, because you can always re-burn it. And you can also use paint as a cover-up. You can leave it, but the urethane may eventually start to peel away and its always gonna bug you. Don't give up - your chops are too good! Lets see some Glamour Shots of this guy!!!

do you guys wait until the wood is completely dry before you apply the urethane, or can it be applied to a log that is not entirely dry inside & out.

I see all of these urethaned tikis and I'm thinking to myself "jeez, do ALL these guys have some stash of logs that have been sitting around drying for 2 years???"

The Mexican Fan Palms that they have on the West Coast/Southern Cali do not pose the same problems we deal with. Florida logs are extremely full of water and different species. Humidity also effects the amount of time it takes for them to dry. It shouldn't take 2 years for palm logs to dry in FL - if you store them vertically and inside it may only take a month or more. If you store them outside and horizontally you may run the risk of dealing with rot.

I see all of these urethaned tikis and I'm thinking to myself "jeez, do ALL these guys have some stash of logs that have been sitting around drying for 2 years???"

check out Buzzy's Pile!

sounds like I need to start using that storage room out back for storing my logs!

Hey shirtman, tough break on the finish, and Buzzy is right on and Aloha Station is too.

First you never should put on a Heavy or thick coat.. If you want a thick built up look do it with multiple thin coats and it's Always a good idea to use a sealer first. Also as Aloha said, SAND in between coats, it's Important to do it Every time!

for your current situation, Sanding is the way to go, the Only way to go to get it right. That thick gummy stuff has to be removed.

I learned the Hard way just like you are doing so don't feel bad. I've a feeling most All of us have taken this particular class too.
Hope this helps.

Hey Shirtman, that's a fine looking carve. I'm in the DRY DESERT about 100 miles east of you. I'd be happy to store it for a year to see if it dried out :D

CABOT'S,
AUSTRALIAN TIMBER OIL.

Thanks for all the responses.
After sitting for a few he's gotten a little better. I did some light sanding on him and also in the cracks where he went awry. I'm trying to keep it light to keep from completely restraining him.

Did some tests on some inconspicuous spots and the results were positive so I think He can be salvaged without a complete stripping.
I redid the urethane today on a day where it was in the high 80's with 28% humidity. I'll take some pictures when he cures a little.

Do you have any finished pics of that tiki?
Looks brilliant :)