I decided to try a 1:1:1 mixture of BLO/MinWax Gloss Poly/Naphtha on my
current project, a set of CD shelves. (made of Oak ply) I've got 3 coats
on and I like what I see, but I have questions.

I read somewhere that you have to be careful not to leave any "wet"
spots; if you do, they allegedly remain gummy forever.

I applied the mixture (with a t-shirt piece) and wiped it off after a
few minutes. I didn't time it; probably 5-8 minutes. I found that a
smattering of little wet dots (1/16" -1/8" in diameter) would reappear
quickly, after which I would re-wipe. (I used common paper towels for
the wiping, changing them often)

I repeated this quite a few times, but I don't think I ever ended up
with no wet dots at all. I told myself these were the inner surfaces of
a project that will be filled with CDs and let it go after maybe 5 wipings.

Come the next day, I couldn't see any gummy or shiny spots. I've
repeated the same process for 3 coats total, leaving at least 48 hours
in-between.

It seems (on cursory inspection) that I've succeeded in avoiding the
wet-spot problems, but I wonder if I really needed to work that hard at
it. How long should I wait before wiping? How fastidious do I need to be?

Some more questions:

What is the recommended interval between coats?
How many coats are required? (I like the "look" right now after 3 coats,
but maybe more are needed for durability?)
How is the durability anyway?
Do I need to move on to what I've heard is the "second" formula, the one
with beeswax? Or can I just leave well enough alone?

This method looks really promising so far. There's no visible layer of
plasticky finish, and the color is pretty nice too. But I'd like to
refine my technique a bit before I do the outside surfaces, not to
mention future projects.



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