Different sheen with same satin poly

7 years ago

so I've been working on finishing a table my father in law finished for me and for some reason it took about 10 coats to get the table top to either not bubble or have lighter spots. the set also has benches to go with the table and for some reason the finish coat on the benches has much more sheen and looks darker. I've contacted Minwax and they've been no help as they stated that the more coats the darker which has been opposite in my case. they also said that if the can isn't stirred well that may play a role. well I've made sure I've stirred it well and have even tried new cans of varnish. what can I do to dull up the benches to look closer to the table top? thanks in advance!

Featured Answer

cat_ky

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

The wood may be a bit different and just takes the stain and poly a bit different, but, it looks great, the way it is, and once you start using it, and people are sitting on the benches, and they get wiped off several time, it will all blend in. I wouldnt do anymore to it. Very pretty table. My husband and I built pine furniture for several years, before he passed away, and even if all the lumber is bought at the same time, from the same place, the boards can be different. Your benches have more graining than the boards on the table top. It looks really good right now.

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Comments (8)

paintguy22
7 years ago
Are you sure it isn't because the benches are lower than the table? I don't understand the sheen issue either. What happens is when you do that many coats you reach a point of maximum saturation where the sheen is what it is and can't get any shinier.
Jess Barrett thanked paintguy22
sloyder
7 years ago
In the photo the benches have less sheen than the table top.
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Jess Barrett
Original Author
7 years ago
hopefully this is pic shows the differences better, where the benches are slightly darker and have more of a gloss finish. Is my best bet to try to do an additional 5 coats or so on the benches to match the number of coats on the tabletop then?
paintguy22
7 years ago
More coats will only make it shiner if it will do anything. Are the benches both the same species of wood?
Jess Barrett thanked paintguy22
Jess Barrett
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks Cat for the compliments on the table, I've spend so much dang time on it! I was leaning towards steel-wooling it but maybe I'll just leave it as is then! In terms of the wood My fatherlaw may indeed have given me a different wood for the benches as he had originally used pine 2x4s for the bench tops thinking I was painted them but I told him I wanted thick stained tops so I got the wood later from him. Plus the bench pieces were about twice as thick as what they are now as I had them planed down as they were warped. So moral of the story is if you guys say everything is acceptable and nothing can really be done to fix it especially if it's going to be a lot more work and $. Thanks again everyone!

Oh and at the least I just want to state that Minwax's Satin Poly isn't so satin-y in my opinion, much more semi-glossy/glossy
sloyder
7 years ago
remember wood is a natural product, so you are bound to see different variations in the finished product.
Jess Barrett
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
yes good point, thanks everyone for the advice/feedback.