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Stain removed with wipe on poly

1K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  Jonczyk23 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I recently was commissioned to redo a old wooden front door. I stripped it down to bare wood, sanded in various grades of sandpaper up to 220 grit, used a wood conditioner prior to staining, and applied rustoleum oil based dark walnut stain. The problem came when I went to apply a wipe on poly. (I have struggled with bubbles with brush on poly) It appears that some of the stain wiped off when I applied the polyurethane. Can I sand down just the parts that were affected? The door took over 30 hours of work up to this point so I really don't want to start again. However, I want to make sure my client gets the best product possible. Any suggestions?

Brown Wood Flooring Wood stain Hardwood
 

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#2 ·
Solvent based topcoats will partially dissolve most stains, especially oil based. Usually this is no a problem, as the effect is a slight lightening overall of the stain color. It only happens on the first coat of the finish.

From you picture, it looks like there are spots with no stain? Not sure what is going on there, but if the finish removed all the stain from some spots, those spots were not properly prepped and the stain never penetrated. In that case, you do need to resand those areas, restain and reapply the top coat.

In case you want a shortcut, here's a trick. apply stain to those spots, let it dry. They use a spray varnish to put down a protective layer. Then apply additional coats as needed.

BTW, wipe on poly is probably not the best for an exterior door if that's what you are doing. Since you are already committed, plan on applying about 10 coats. A marine varnish (available at a marine/boating store) would be better-more UV resistance and more flexibility to deal with moisture changes.
 
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