On Jun 2, 9:49 pm, "Leon" wrote:

A few other oddities about gel varnishes, there is no stirring to mix in the
matting agent, it stays permanently suspended. Additionally I have yet to
see a gel varnish that comes in a "gloss".

Check the link below. At the bottom of the referenced page (if the
link works), you will see another link to a pdf labeled "Bartley Gel
Finishes brochure". When you click on the link and open the pdf, you
will see an old standard, Bartley wipe on varnish in satin . While
I have used their satin, I have actually never used their gloss.

As a sidebar, while it may be different now, in the ancient old days
of gel finishes, they did want you to gently stir (not mix) the
product before use to make sure the product was "consistent in
application". Maybe long truck rides in hot trucks that distributed
to warehouses were a consideration at one time.
Dunno.

But, the OP was asking about poly. Is your new favorite a poly or a
varnish? Don't confuse me, as I was telling someone this last weekend
(that can't afford for me to finish his piece of furniture) that you
had come across a finish that you liked a lot, and had great luck in
application.

If it is a varnish, he will probably try it. If it is a poly, he
won't. It looks like LMF makes the wipe on poly, and Bartley's makes
the wipe on varnish.

Going to the LMF site does no good. When their home page opens it
ONLY describes a polyurethane finish as their wipe on gel.

BUT... when you go to the bottom of that page and load their pdf on
Bartley gel, the can they show in the brochure is clearly marked as
varnish.

So is the LMF poly the product you are using or are you using the
Bartley's varnish?

Details, please.

Because gel varnishes go on thin
and yield a finish that gives spraying a run for its money in smoothness, it
seems like a gloss finish would be a naturally "easy to apply finish" with a
gel. I'll have to e-mail Lawrence McFadden and find out the skinny on that.
;~)

If LMF doesn't have a gloss wipe on, don't worry. You can get gloss
wipe on from Minwax (hey don't laugh - it's pretty good!), Cabot,
Valspar, Old Masters, Zar, and a few others.

I have used the Old Masters (excellent) and the Minwax (almost as
good) personally, but not the others in gloss wipe on.

Let me know which finish you are using that you like so much, por
favor.

Robert