i have pits, where the poly did not cover the sealed wood, i used a foam applicator. i was told not to use thinner to clean dust, i used damp rag with water.

The water caused the pits(actually called fish eyes).

Reason? Water and oil do not mix---you used water to wipe off and applied an oil based product.

Had you used water based poly, you would have been ok.

Always use the chemical used as the carrier for the finish to clean before applying the finish.

Example, if applying lacquer, use lacquer thinner, if shellac is use, clean with alcohol. Oil based finishes require paint thinner and water works for water based finishes.

Foam applicators are famous for adding bubbles in a thick finish like oil based poly, especially if the foam brush is squeezed as finish is applied.

handymac, i was told by a professional shuffleboard refinisher strictly not to clean the dust with mineral spirits, to use a damp rag, i really dont think it was from the damp rag, i went over it again with a dry rag and waited.
i think its contamination
but you did not help my question, can i just sand down with 320 and reapply, do you think the second coat might cover?

I have finished a lot of projects with a lot of different finishes and never, ever used a different carrier.

It seems your pro knows more than I do. That may be, so my question is now, why are you not asking that pro instead of us?

With a name like that what do you expect??? LOL,I just had to,the devil made me do it.
Joking aside,Mac has a point about asking one source for prep instructions then asking a secound source for solutions when trouble crops up. You also left out very important details,mainly if the piece was finished in years passed and what species wood you have. We are not mind readers but I'm going on the limb anyhow and guess you are trying to refinish a used piece. Crawing farthur out on said limb I'm guessing the piece has been cleaned with gererious amounts of silicon furniture polish during it;s life. Give us a break by furnishing all pieces to the puzzle and I betcha we can show you how to make them fit.

its a shuffleboard!!! Klem! i guess its seen a lot of silicone wax making the pucks move? its rock maple too.
gonna buy fish eye remover and add that to poly. hope it works!

thanks for help everyone, but i opted for a body guy who knows about spraying and stuff. hes gonna sand what i have down down to bare wood. Then hes going to use lacquer to paint on numbers and lines, then spray with clear lacquer.
I tried using the brush on poly on this table with no success!
and i learned the hard way, will never try on a shuffleboard again.

i've never used a sealer of any kind with poly. any oil or wax , and i do mean any ,will create fish eye. if you don't get it all off from go, you'll chasing that problem through all coats and it'll still be there. wash it down with naptha or a wax-oil remover and wipe it clean. then wipe it clean again with a clean rag and ammonia. also i've had some success with fish eye remover, so that's worth a shot.

still have a couple spots of fish eye, definitely silicone contamination. will address with fish eye remover next app.
Does anyone know if i can buy a silcone/degreaser and wipe down on Poly?

poly doesn't care about any cleaner you can buy, so have at the grease. i'm fond of a de-greaser called purple power. full strength it'll remove oil from an old engine block. 20% in cold water will clean off any grease from your top. scrub it on and wipe it off with a clean damp rag. you can buy it at auto stores. as for silicone, ouch! it gets pulled into the wood like a black hole. on raw wood you can scrub it out with a stiff nylon brush. but if it's got a coat of poly on it , and you can't get it out. the next best thing is to dig out the fish eye with an exacto knife till you're into new wood . put masking tape around the hole and pack in bondo and level it out and sand. color it to match, or make it look like a knot hole. it's not my 1st choice to deal with fish eye but it works.

I thought you had a pro to do lacquer?????

no handymac, i did not know they used lacquer back in the day, and that is why alot of the older tables have cracks in the surface coat.
that is why i went with oil base poly, but should not have bought the minwax!

Quote:

"thanks for help everyone, but i opted for a body guy who knows about spraying and stuff. hes gonna sand what i have down down to bare wood. Then hes going to use lacquer to paint on numbers and lines, then spray with clear lacquer. "

You did write that?

Again, polyurethane is polyurethane. It depends more on the proper prep, where you buy it, and whether the can is within it's shelf life than the brand. I've used outdated poly and it was terrible. The same brand in date worked just fine.

Ok, seems the dust problem i had was because i was running an electric heater, blowing on high!! yes i know im a knucklehead!
The fisheye remover worked!! I saw one tiny spot, this app. looks great, hardly any dust!
i just didnt give up on the project, i know i wrote in an earlier post pointed out specifically by handyman that i was gonna have a body guy spray the lacquer.
thanks for everyones help with this! but seems i always have to learn the hard way!
If any of you ever resurface a shuffleboard, after sanding i strongly advise to buy some maxxsolv 5900 silicone degreaser first and clean the heck out of it! Im sure that would of solved alot of my frustration!!

"Im sure that would of solved alot of my frustration!!"

We have worked hard helping you,will you return the favor?
Please explain why you started a new thread without mentioning your previous thread? You came here asking about "bubbles in polyurathane". Talking to you about contamination was the #1 focus in that first thread. HandyMac instructed you to use paint thinner in wipping down but you used water instead. I gave you a long list of instructions on keeping tools and project clean before,during and after finishing. It is that kind of willi nilli behavior that frustrates us in giving best answers. Are you just seeing if we can hit your curve balls or do you fail to realize that complete and accruate information is needed if one wants complete and accurate answers?

dont worry klem, i wont come here again for help, you guys are moody! and a little rude klem.
water had nothing to do with it. nothing wrong with cleaning with damp rag, just as long as to dry, which will take slightly longer than thinner, so what, guess you just like to argue, good day!

you know what they say mayhem69. you learn from mistakes, and experience. i'll be witness to that.

I find it amusing that folks come here for help, expect us to read their minds, and get mad because we are rude and moody????

Been a member of several Internet websites where I enjoy helping folks for over a decade now. There are a lot more folks like me, which is really a vast source of knowledge.

Actually, there are way more folks who appreciate the help than those who gripe. Reason most of us do what we do.

"dont worry klem, i wont come here again for help"

No need to mayhem,there is nothing else you can learn. When you started this thread you didn't know a bubble from a pit from a fisheye. Now you are giving me instructions about proper cleaning. Either we are good teachers or you are a fast learner.