# Aquacoat bad interaction with Waterlox



## ShawnSpencer (Mar 7, 2014)

I'm finishing a bench seat in walnut. I filled the pores with Aquacoat on the top and left the underside alone. I put on my first coat of Waterlox on both sides. The bottom came out great. The top is pretty blotchy. Now, is the water base Aquacoat causing a problem with the Waterlox? Should I have went a light coat of shellac between the two? I sanded well and the directions say oil based finish should not be a problem. I'm going to sand back to raw wood. Any advice or possible solutions would be appreciated. I can post some pics later today.


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## Purrmaster (Sep 1, 2012)

I routinely used Aqua Coat grain filler and Waterlox together. On walnut and oak. I never used shellac as a sealer.

I haven't run into the blotching problem you're talking about. It's odd you're getting that because Aqua Coat usually takes color fairly well.

The only thing I can think of is that you didn't sand the wood enough after applying the grain filler. What you're shooting for is to have the Aqua Coat mostly or only in the pores. If there is a substantial film of Aqua Coat over the surface of the wood it may act as a sealant against the Waterlox.

If you have enough walnut you may want to make several large test pieces. Throw on the Aqua Coat, sand back, then Waterlox it. Perhaps try one panel with with the Aqua Coat sanded way back and another where you leave more Aqua Coat on the wood.

It can be hard to tell when you've sanded the Aqua Coat back enough. If you sand too much you'll rip the grain filler out of the pores. If you sand too little you'll have a film on the whole wood.

Did you use a stain in between the Aqua Coat and the Waterlox?


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## ShawnSpencer (Mar 7, 2014)

You are right, it was way too thick of a coat. I had even sanded pretty aggressively. After watching a couple youtubes about application. I realized my error. Back to raw wood and a thin coat. It came out beautifully. These are both great products. Major human error was the problem. Here is an after image. I was so frustrated and ready to fix it I never got pics of the blotching. There was no stain thankfully. Thank you for the reply. Nice to know I'm on the right track and some of the ins and outs.


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## Purrmaster (Sep 1, 2012)

That *is* nice. I like how Waterlox darkens walnut a bit.

Aqua coat can be kind of deceptive because unless you catch it in the right light you can't tell if it's there or not.


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