Wayne,

I have found that the brush has alot to do with it. The other
factors are humidity and heat. If it is too humid, 75% the results are
poor. If it is too cold 63 F then to gets real thick and does not flow or
cure well. But by far the biggest influence is the brush. Do not use the
cheap stuff. I do not understand fully understand how to match the bristles
types to the finish, but the Purdy brand natural bristle here lets the
varathane behave as expected. One last point, if you do not stir the
varathane as suggested, this will also affect your results. (NEVER NEVER
shake it. lots and lots of air bubbles that you will NEVER get out of the
surface) Good luck

Paul.


"NoOne N Particular" wrote in message
et...
Hi all,

I am applying Varathane Diamond Polyurethane to some goblets that I just
turned. This is the water based version and is NOT the Varathane Diamond
Wood Finish that is oil based. I am using this product because someone
recommended it for a finish that doesn't change the color of the wood
much, seals the wood so the goblets can be used, is relatively tough, and
is pretty much tasteless. It is supposed to be a high gloss, but I
haven't got that far yet.

My problem is that apparently this stuff does no self-leveling at all. No
matter what I do I can see brush strokes. I have tried putting it on as
thin as I can, and as thick as I can without allowing it to run. The
brush I am using is one of my wife's very fine synthetic bristle (as
recommended on the can) watercolor artist brushes (well the can doesn't
say ARTIST brushes but it does say synthetic bristle), and I still see
every single brush mark. I have to sand the goblets back to smooth again
and apply another coat, but every time I sand I have to take it back to
mostly bare wood to get it smooth again. So far I have tried 4 coats and
am basically starting over each time I apply it. Anyone have any tips on
eliminating the brush marks?

I have also tried the Varathane Diamond Wood Finish (this is the oil based
product) on some scrap wood, and it changes the color of the wood too much
for me. Darkens, and some yellowing that I want to avoid. I have also
tried Minwax Wipe on Poly and it yellows too much too, but at least it is
smooth. I am going to experiment on a scrap piece and see what happens
when I put the oil based product on top of the water based product. If I
like what I see, do you think there will be any problems in the future
with adhesion, etc?

TIA,

Wayne