A friend of mine has a table he wants to finish, in semi gloss polyurethane.
He has about 3/4 gallons ea. of satin and gloss both the same brand. Rather
than spend the money for semi-gloss and have more unused material. He asked
if he could mix the two and come up with something in the middle of gloss
and satin. It sounds possible, but I have no experience with such a mix.
Has anyone done this before?

Art Lindquist wrote:

A friend of mine has a table he wants to finish, in semi gloss polyurethane.
He has about 3/4 gallons ea. of satin and gloss both the same brand. Rather
than spend the money for semi-gloss and have more unused material. He asked
if he could mix the two and come up with something in the middle of gloss
and satin. It sounds possible, but I have no experience with such a mix.
Has anyone done this before?

Probably be fine--just take a sample of each and try it on similar piece
of scrap wood before committing to the project.

Art Lindquist wrote:
A friend of mine has a table he wants to finish, in semi gloss
polyurethane. He has about 3/4 gallons ea. of satin and gloss both
the same brand. Rather than spend the money for semi-gloss and have
more unused material. He asked if he could mix the two and come up
with something in the middle of gloss and satin. It sounds possible,

It is. The only thing that makes one sheen different from another is
the amount of flatting agent added to glossy...which is the sheen at
which varnishes start life.


--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
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Sure.

Just make sure that the satin is well mixed before mixing it with gloss. The
stuff that makes it flatter can settle.

-Steve

"dadiOH" wrote in message
news:9lmMe.7079$rR4.4100@trnddc08...
Art Lindquist wrote:
A friend of mine has a table he wants to finish, in semi gloss
polyurethane. He has about 3/4 gallons ea. of satin and gloss both
the same brand. Rather than spend the money for semi-gloss and have
more unused material. He asked if he could mix the two and come up
with something in the middle of gloss and satin. It sounds possible,

It is. The only thing that makes one sheen different from another is
the amount of flatting agent added to glossy...which is the sheen at
which varnishes start life.


--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Art Lindquist wrote:

A friend of mine has a table he wants to finish, in semi gloss polyurethane.
He has about 3/4 gallons ea. of satin and gloss both the same brand. Rather
than spend the money for semi-gloss and have more unused material. He asked
if he could mix the two and come up with something in the middle of gloss
and satin. It sounds possible, but I have no experience with such a mix.
Has anyone done this before?


stir them both, mix and stir again, and apply the finish to a sample
board. review the DRY finish and decide if the result is pleasing.

I mix sheens of the same brand (waterbornes) occasionally. works fine.

Dave

In article 9lmMe.7079$rR4.4100@trnddc08,
"dadiOH" wrote:


It is. The only thing that makes one sheen different from another is
the amount of flatting agent added to glossy...which is the sheen at
which varnishes start life.


In most cases it is just ultra fine silica.

In fact, Sikkens (I am sure there are others) offer a 'matting agent'
for their ultra high gloss acrylic lacquers. It gives you infinite
control over the sheen, providing you measure carefully and keep track
so you can repeat finishes.

In a pinch, I have skimmed some off the upper layer of a dormant can of
satin poly (neither shaken nor stirred) to do a quick high-gloss
touch-up.

Suggest check with maker of the brand for shelf life issues. Usually
a made on date code on the can for reference.

On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 08:09:59 -0500, "Art Lindquist"
wrote:

A friend of mine has a table he wants to finish, in semi gloss polyurethane.
He has about 3/4 gallons ea. of satin and gloss both the same brand. Rather
than spend the money for semi-gloss and have more unused material. He asked
if he could mix the two and come up with something in the middle of gloss
and satin. It sounds possible, but I have no experience with such a mix.
Has anyone done this before?

nospambob wrote:
Suggest check with maker of the brand for shelf life issues. Usually
a made on date code on the can for reference.

On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 08:09:59 -0500, "Art Lindquist"
wrote:


A friend of mine has a table he wants to finish, in semi gloss polyurethane.
He has about 3/4 gallons ea. of satin and gloss both the same brand. Rather
than spend the money for semi-gloss and have more unused material. He asked
if he could mix the two and come up with something in the middle of gloss
and satin. It sounds possible, but I have no experience with such a mix.
Has anyone done this before?



You always want to test, but I haven't had any
problem with old polyurethane. I currently have a
part gallon that is at least 10 years old but
possibly 15 year old. I used it recently. It was
kind of lumpy but became smooth with stirring and
a little thining. Setting was no problem, as I
always add a dryer.

In fact, I have a quart can, (little dab in the
bottom with a 1/16" thick hard skim and liquid was
lumpy and thick), that I used 2 days ago on a
board. It was a little slow in drying (about 1
day, instead of 6 hours) but otherwise ok. The
can still has a sales tag from a store that went
out of business over 15 years ago. About time to
retire that can.

Should work, except it won't make semi-gloss. Satin is already half
way between semigloss and matte. mixing matte and glossy would make
semigloss. So it should be fine, just a bit shinier than semigloss.
Maybe counteract by adding more satin than glossy. Experiment.