I quit using polyurethane more than 20 years ago for a variety of reasons that I will outline here. If you use polyurethane products, and you are happy with the results there is no need to change what works for you. If on the other hand you are not happy with your results and you would like know more, this video and article may put you on a new path.What started my initial issues with using polyurethane was my dissatisfaction with the results I was getting, the finish was glossy, but often had small bumps in it, it was never perfect no matter how many coats I applied.
What enlightened me was simply asking a couple of other woodworkers I recently met at a woodworkers guild I had recently joined. They were all very willing to listen to my plight and offer some solutions and alternatives ... here is where I started to learn new things about finishing.
As luck would have it, our guild was hosting a "woodworking show" where members could show off and sell wood things they make from turned bowls, and pens all the way up through custom wooden boxes and home and office furniture pieces. One of the experienced woodworkers took me around through the show to explain different finishes and I could see first hand what they looked like. It was there that I first saw how wooden pieces, finished with polyurethane differed from others. As the show moved forward over the next few days and I worked my "shifts" on the floor, it was evident which pieces were selling and which were not getting attention and it was clear that high gloss, plastic looking pieces were not doing well as far as sales went. And they clearly looked more amateurish despite a few of them that obviously took a long time to make and had amazing details but lacked a professional "look".
All of this is what put me on a different path for finishing. A path that allowed me to get the look and feel that I wanted and without all the muss and fuss of trying to work with polyurethane.
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Here is the side by side comparison, notice the reflection of the can in the right hand side
When I look back 25 years ago, few people had any idea what a "hardwax oil" was, now they are super popular, and for very good reason and they fit well with other hard oil products like boiled linseed oil, Tung oil, Odie's Oil, Osmo, Rubio Monocoat, Shellac (not an oil), walnut oil and many more. I started off using Osmo (which was originally designed as a floor finishing product) and found it very easy to apply and gave me the kind of finishes I wanted, but I also use some Tung oil and Shellac.
So Back to polyurethane and here are the things I like and don't like about the product
Likes
- Very readily available, you can buy this stuff pretty much at any hardware or lumber store
- Price wise, I think this is fairly well priced
... and that is pretty much it for likes
Dislikes
- I hate the "glossy", reflection make wood hard to see
- cannot be repaired
- difficult to strip and replace
- difficult to get pure smooth finish
- odor displeasing
- off gassing long
- traps moisture even with only one coat
- will fog then lift from "wet" wood
- will lift from oily woods
- cannot top coat with any other product
- MUST top coat with more poly
- easy to waste product in bushes etc.
Did I miss any?
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What I Use Now
The products below are mostly what I use now, in order of most to least used, Osmo, Shellac, Boiled Linseed Oil, and Tung Oil.
If you are interested in elevating the look and feel of your woodworking projects, I encourage you to attend a woodworking show where you can see the different items displayed and even talk to some of the people who have brought them for display. These events are happening all over the world, all the time at mall displays, wood club events, smaller wood shows and more. You will get a chance to see what different finishes look like and what, if any might fit what you are doing.
In all the woodworking I have done, finding a finish I like and that worked for me was easy to achieve and gave me more satisfaction with the finished look of my projects than any other process.
After all, we are making things with wood and we want to share what we make with others who shouldn't have to struggle to see the wood grain and features of the wood, it should be easy. If we didn't have this process we might as well be using MDF and painting it. We use wood because we like the look and satisfaction of using and displaying it.
Colin Knecht
woodworkweb
