Reply by ShipWreck

Poly finishes often do not react very well directly over latex without fine sanding. They will cloud, ripple, and create a messy cleanup problem. The best chance of getting good results would be to sand the entire latex covered surfaces with 220 grit. The idea of fine sanding is to break the glossy top barrier of the latex. Once you break that glossy skin, you get a rougher base for the poly to lock on to. It acts like a base coat/clear coat auto finish. Trust me…......it works.

Poly should be applied with a fine bristle brush and loaded up enough to cause a very slight flooding. The smearing looks to be from the cloth.