Posted: 7/2/2016 2:32:41 PM EDT
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I'm ready to set this $10 can on fire
I have stirred this shit so much I'm not gonna have the strength to brush my teeth tonight and I still get streaks from the flattener not mixing. I tried satin years ago and now I realize why I haven't since It's about 85 F in my shop, Thinking that might be letting the flattener settle I stirred, put the can in ice and cooled it down, stirred (taking it out before it got too cold) stirred again and that made absolutely no difference. Still has small gloss streaks. 
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Quoted:
Sometimes it's easy to be your on worst critic. Things you see others will not Perhaps as the varnish completely cures out it will get better? No it really looks like shit, here's a drawer I did yesterday, the specks just dust on top not in the finish That's the best pic I could get, too much glare but you can see the gloss lines 
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I have no idea what you are working on or what brand of poly you are using. But General Finishes High Performance Satin Poly is a water borne poly that is dead simple to apply with a foam brush. It drys pretty quick and is very clear with no color added to the wood. Use Jen brand foam brushes from Amazon or Jamestown Distributing. They have the correct foam quality, correct internal stiffner and correct attachment to the handle. Do not use cheap big box store brushes, the floppy mother fuckers will just frustrate the fuck out of you. The foam works well because it will put down an even coat and reabsorb excess. On unstained wood, you put a coat down, let dry, sand with 220 to 320 to remove the raised grain (water base finish will cause the wood grain to swell and be bumpy) and then you can coat again and the grain won't raise. 3 coats is good for things that will see use. On stained wood, raise the grain before staining, then sand to remove raised grain. General Finishes web site offers good instructions, so better to follow them. General Finishes Satin Arm-R-Seal is a good oil base wipe on finish. You use a blue shop towel to wipe it on. There is a slight skill involved, but you don't have to worry about the grain raising. It takes a lot longer to dry than the water base and it goes on real thin so you need more coats of it. It has a slight amber tone that is pleasing especially on walnut and cherry. |
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How old is it? What brand?
The older it gets, the tougher it is to get the flattening agent to mix well. If it's a 1-gallon can, you could take it back to the place of purchase and ask them to put it in the shaker. I recently refinished a hardwood floor with Minwax satin, and it looks great with no streaking. But it was way too much work, and the house stunk for days. 
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I did an island counter top with no flattner. Don't even know what it is but I assume it flattens the poly. I used one of those square applicator that has what looks like terry cloth on it. Put on several coat allowing complete drying between and 600 grit light sanding with tac cloth. Came out baby butt smooth with no streaks. |
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85 degrees makes it really hard to apply varnish and many other finishes. The finish will tend to dry and streak the hotter it is. A finish that is really easy to use at cooler temps can become much harder to use at higher temps. You need to get up in the morning and put your coat down when it is coolest. It is much easier to work in the cooler months than the dead heat of summer. Stirring a satin is necessary to get the flattner mixed in, but I have never found that it takes more than a short time of stirring to ensure mixing. You will get pretty good advice at Sawmillcreek forum especially if you include details of what you have done instead of just bitching about the finish. |
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Quoted: I did an island counter top with no flattner. Don't even know what it is but I assume it flattens the poly. I used one of those square applicator that has what looks like terry cloth on it. Put on several coat allowing complete drying between and 600 grit light sanding with tac cloth. Came out baby butt smooth with no streaks. |
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Let the poly cure for a few weeks. Get Johnson paste wax with 00 steel wool as an applicator and go over your project. Let dry then buff! Gives it a nice warm finish and smooth!
I usually apply 3-4 coats of gloss with a good brush. Let cure, go over with 400 grit and spray with satin poly and then do the above. |
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Quoted: Flattner does not level a finish, it makes it less glossy. Gloss has no flattner, Semi-gloss has some flattner, Satin has more flattner and Flat has the most flattner. Quoted: Quoted: I did an island counter top with no flattner. Don't even know what it is but I assume it flattens the poly. I used one of those square applicator that has what looks like terry cloth on it. Put on several coat allowing complete drying between and 600 grit light sanding with tac cloth. Came out baby butt smooth with no streaks. Thanks! I install them and got roped into re finishing one. It came out pretty good if I do say so myself. |
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Quoted: Thanks! I install them and got roped into re finishing one. It came out pretty good if I do say so myself. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I did an island counter top with no flattner. Don't even know what it is but I assume it flattens the poly. I used one of those square applicator that has what looks like terry cloth on it. Put on several coat allowing complete drying between and 600 grit light sanding with tac cloth. Came out baby butt smooth with no streaks. Thanks! I install them and got roped into re finishing one. It came out pretty good if I do say so myself. Some people like to make all the base coats in gloss and only the very last coats in Satin. The idea is that gloss is marginally clearer than satin due to the absence of the flattners. Unless you are putting an extreme amount of finish down, I have found just using satin for all coats is fine. |
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I may have found a solution!
I went to town and got different brushes and tried them all. A couple worked ok but one of them leaves no streaks, a natural bristle. Don't remember the name brand its outside in the shop. I think the temp is still hurting it. I brushed 2 drawers for a trial and the poly tried to run (more like sag) in a few areas even spread thin. You can see a separation in the flattener in the "sag" The day starts about 80F so I'm pretty much screwed on the temp unless I get up at 2 AM, the tiled floor entryway to the house may be an option Thanks all, bookmarked a few suggested sites |