On Feb 4, 4:32*pm, A Lurker wrote:
Thanks for all of the responses. I just called the guy with the table. He
followed the directions on the can of Watco Teak Oil(that in itself is
amazing), and on Tuesday evening put on two coats about an hour apart and
wiping off the excess as instructed. The stain stayed down fine and didn't
blotch.

Excellent! And if he actually read and followed the instructions,
that puts him well past some of the "professionals" I know! I am glad
he didn't pull up his stain. That's one I learned the hard way.

Any damage from use at the party, he will try another Watco Teak oil, let
that dry and then move on to wipe on poly. Putting anything more on before
Sunday would be pushing it.

Sounds like a great plan to me. Just tell the boys to be careful. As
a final thought, I would let the finish cure out for about 3 - 4 weeks
before I put anything on top of it.

Since you are going to put poly on top of the oil, your buddy should
be aware that the solvents in the poly can/might dissolve into the
oil, making a bit of mess if he gets on it too soon. Even if it sands
to powder, it may not be cured.

And since you are putting a "hard" finish over a "soft" base, you want
it to be as hard as possible.

For the sake of speed, and for the sake of "less coats means less
chances of problems", I would look for some of Leon's posts here about
using a foam brush to apply the poly. He does very nice work, and he
swears by that method (as do others).

You can literally put down in one pass with the foam brush what it
will take 3 or more passes when wiping. That means with a foam brush,
you can complete the finish your project in one day, not a few.

Robert