# Might as well just smear on some lemon marmalade and call it done.



## whitebeast88 (May 27, 2012)

sorry your having such a hard time.that sucks.i've used polyshades a couple of times and was satisfied with the results.which since i've started using danish oil and blo i haven't touched any minwax stains.


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## ShaneA (Apr 15, 2011)

Boo Polyshades.


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## Grumpymike (Jan 23, 2012)

Sorry you have had such a bad experience with the MinWax Product … I have had very good luck with that brand for many years, but I admit that I have never used the Polyshades.
I have had finishes that just would not cure properly and the only way I got them off was to use a cabinet scraper and wash with a solvent proper for the type of finish.
Why is it always the best piece of figured grain or the heirloom antique?? Murphy's Law??

And we did read and follow the instructions on the can? ... Sorry, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity … ;p


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## Bogeyguy (Sep 26, 2012)

Justjoe, Your rant is nothing but a rant without any details or photos. What type wood, how was it prepped, etc.etc. There are members here in LJ that are skilled in the finishing of wood. Let them help you before you spring a leak.


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## DaleM (Feb 18, 2009)

The picture on the can is just there to sucker you in, sort of like the sea monkey pictures, with all the cool little creatures with their little sea monkey city. I don't like polyshades, but mine did dry overnight when I used it. Since you said it's a refinish, I'm thinking there could have been something in the wood, maybe some type of oil that kept it from curing? Then again, it could have been something in that batch or that can too. I use Formby's Tung Oil finish sometimes and it always dried fairly quickly for a varnish, but my last bottle wouldn't dry at all even on clean wood with nothing else on it. It got to the tacky stage and that was it. It sounds like the same problem you're having maybe.


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## JustJoe (Oct 26, 2012)

The wood is sitting under the can. The original lacquer was hand-scraped off and then the entire piece was sanded down to clean bare wood. A dental pick was used to clean the gunk out of the screw holes for all the hardware and then it was cleaned with a shop-vac and then a tac rag.

The can was well-mixed and then a foam-brush was used to put a light coat on. 
And then I waited 3+ days for it to dry.

EDIT: This is actually my second experience with this stuff. The first was my aunt's cabinets. She ordered new doors (bare maple) and chose a light stain. It came out orange.


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## WhoMe (Jul 9, 2009)

I haven't used that stuff but I'm considering myself warned.


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## MrFid (Mar 9, 2013)

I will 100% second this review. I misguidedly bought a can a few years ago. I think mine was classic oak as well. I tried it on something or other, and had about the same results you got, Joe. However, there was a silver lining.

That can of polyshades, with 7 brushstrokes worth of Polyshade missing, sits atop a shelf in my shop to remind me *always* to read third-party reviews before buying *anything* for the shop. Someday I'll be thinking of it on the day our town does toxic waste removal, and it will go, but the memory of it will remain.


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## GROOVY56 (Feb 22, 2013)

I agree its crap… but take the box off! it cant dry in there it needs air circulation,


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## JustJoe (Oct 26, 2012)

Yes Bailey, the shrine to ill-advised purchases, or as I like to call it: Everything in the big shed and most of the attic.

Groovy - the box came off yesterday morning. It's had enough air. It just needs a decent burial now. I don't have the patience to strip this thing again so I'll probably just throw it in a closet or shed and continue to work on the other chests I'm fixing up.


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## Randy_ATX (Sep 18, 2011)

Joe, thanks for posting a humorous review for what is a painful subject. I'll heed your warning.


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

I had the same experience with polyshades. I did find that brushing it on and wiping it off thoroughly that it would eventually (after several days) dry enough that you could put varnish over it and the varnish would dry to the touch and you can use the item. Like Bailey the can now sits on the top shelf to remind me never buy it again.


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## dczward (May 23, 2011)

How'd it look on that test board before you put it on your project?


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

I wouldn't trust any stain + topcoat in one. It is too difficult to get both the right color and good water protection.

I have tried maybe 50 Minwax products, and have been satisfied with exactly 0.

Try Rodda, Cabot, or Varathane brand oil based stain. Then spray pre-cat lacquer as a topcoat. It dries in 15 minutes. You can do the required two coats in one day.

Sorry for your woes.


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## AaronK (Nov 30, 2008)

thanksfor the warning about this product. i have used minmax gel varnish stain+poly in one and have been pretty pleased with the results… I'm not using it for my fine handmades, just for an ikea butcher block table. Works great for that - dries to the touch in minutes and as hard as it needs to be within a day.


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## CharlesNeil (Oct 21, 2007)

One of the most amazing things I have encountered in the world of finishing is the weekend woodworker who buys stuff like this, then has horrible results. They then blame themselves and go buy more . Its amazing .

Finishing requires some product knowledge and practice, but its not hard. If a woodowrker would apply 1/4 the time to finishing they apply to understanding construction , woods and tools, they would be amazed at the difference it makes.

There are just so many good options, this isnt one of them.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

I bought a can of natural cherry for $1 and tried it on a corn hole board, because I didn't really care how it looked. I didn't have any problems with drying but the color was way more orange than advertised. The first coat splotched which isn't unexpected but the second coat made it even. I would give it 2 stars, it worked fine except for the color. I wouldn't use it again on anything I cared about.


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## dschlic1 (Jan 3, 2013)

I recently finished an AV Entertainment center using Minwax oil based stain and brush on poly. I had excellent results.


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## Racer2007 (Jan 13, 2011)

dschlic1 , did you use stain then poly ? This stuff is stain/poly all in one and I have seen or heard of very very few people that had any kind of luck with it. I have used Minwax products before with good results but this stuff should just be taken off the market entirley and Minwax can start over on trying to make a new product like it that does actually work.


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## tefinn (Sep 23, 2011)

I tried it when it first hit the market, found that it sucked and never used it again. When I worked for HD I used to try to talk customers out of buying this stuff. Sometimes i succeded. Other times I didn't, then later had to listen to them complain about the crap I sold them. Ahh, the joys of retail.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

People can be dumb. Years ago when I sold cars, some guy came in to buy his daughter a car to drive to college… 2,000 miles away… over the Alcan where you can go half a day without seeing a gas station. He picked out the biggest piece of garbage on the lot. I knew the guy who owned it previously and knew it would never make the trip. I tried to steer him toward a decent car but he got angry and told my boss then went next door and bought a different piece of garbage. Almost got me fired. Sorry to go off topic.


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## Howie (May 25, 2010)

Made the mistake of buying it once. That was enough. I can't believe this crap is still on the market. You are right, we need a new rating system for stuff like this. Hey mods are you listening?


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

JustJoe, the Polyshades should come right off with a simple washdown of lacquer thinner liberally applied to a wiping rag.
I agree, this product is mostly junk, but it does have its place. I have used the darker shades to do shadow edge air brushing. Base color oil stain, followed by a reliable poly, with the Polyshade somewhere in the middle of the coats sprayed on to create the halo effect desired. I know this is a really niche use, but that's about all I've found I can use it for. Other than that, pretty much a mistake by Minwax that for some reason has persisted for years.


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## JustJoe (Oct 26, 2012)

Paul, it's still tacky this morning.I'll see if I have any lacquer thinner and give it a shot.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

*justJoe*, I had the same issues wit this stuff a number of years ago, before I found LJ's, on a country stye shelf! Needless to I have never used it since. Had I known about LJ's then I could have sent out an earlier warning!

*But as Charles Neil pointed out we tend to blame ourselves for bad results when using a bad product, finish or other!*


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## MAXIMUSminimus (Jul 30, 2013)

The truth hurts but JustJoe is 100% correct. PolyShades is the worst product ever made by MinWax. For best results it should be sprayed, possibly rolled but brushing it on is tricky if you desire consistency and a uniform finish.
Not sure what climate your in but that will effect dry time big time. I have successfully used all the other MinWax products like stain, spar urehtane, polyurethane and even water based stain with good results but the PolyShades is terrible. 
It will dry…eventually. If you applied a second coat on top of the first coat that wasn't cured yet then it is common to have the finish take days if not weeks to fully cure. All hope is not lost though and just be patient.
Good luck!


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## redSLED (Mar 21, 2013)

Most satisfying-chuckle finishing product review I have ever read. Awesome. Thanks for the write-up.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

Thanks very much for the warning. I've been curious about it. I've just been hesitant about stain and top coat in one. I think I'll stick with 2 steps for finishing.


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## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

I fear finishing. It seems my fears aren't entirely irrational.


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## dpoisson (Jun 3, 2010)

I believe Douglas asked a VERY pertinent question:
What did your sample board look like?

If you somehow neglected to do a sample board first, then it might explained why a crappy product ruined one of your creation instead of simply ruining a sample board. I haven't tried this product, and I will heed the warning as it seems to draw a concensus, but you can't blame a crappy product from ruining your project.

if you are truly going to scrap your project, you might consider giving it away to a lesser fortunate person maybe?

The lesson to learn here is not really to NOT purchase this product, but rather learn proper finishing procedure and do sample boards before applying ANY product to a project.

In any case, I hope you can salvage your project and apply a finish that will make it shine.

Cheers,
fish


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## JustJoe (Oct 26, 2012)

Good points all, but I think I'll stick to my original rating. Some other users agree, and some don't. Reviews are opinions, and opinions don't always jive. That's OK. No, I didn't do a test board. That doesn't change the outcome for me. The color is nowhere near advertised, and it doesn't dry.* It is still tacky today as I type this. * If the product doesn't work, it doesn't work. It doesn't matter if it isn't working on the real thing, or some piece of scrap I picked out of the trash can. I did mention my surface prep up above. The wood couldn't get any more prepped. I did everything except sacrifice a goat to Minwaxia (The Goddess of Finishing) prior to applying the product. Now, if I had done a test board instead of ruining my chest would I have had to write something like this?

" I give this product 5-stars. It doesn't dry, and the color isn't as described. That makes it totally unusable on a real project. But since I did a test product first I only ruined a piece of scrap wood. If you only use this product to do test boards before going out and buying separate stain and top-coat products, then you will not be disappointed."


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## ELL (May 18, 2010)

I used the same stuff on unfinished oak and had the same problem. It never dried. I finally wiped it off with denatured alcohol and after it dried I applied a coat of 1lb cut de-waxed shellac. The polyshade did impart a color to the oak and after the seal coat of shellac, I applied polyurethane. The can of polyshade went to the hazardous disposal site.


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## bowedstraight (Jul 18, 2013)

since I discovered dye<<<>>>> will you know the story


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## Dedvw (Jul 6, 2010)

I found a couple different poly shades on sale a few years back. After using it on a couple foot stools I made, I never opened the cans again. It's complete junk in my opinion.

On a side note, I bought a can of Krylon crystal clear spray poly at Wal-Mart last summer to apply my very last coat on a piece I worked all summer on. While I was spraying, I noticed a milky color in the spray but thought "maybe it will look different when it dries". Well, the milky color never went away and it took two weeks for me to completely sand the finish/stain off of the piece and refinish it.

I don't buy finish from Wal-Mart anymore.


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## joespehar (Nov 27, 2012)

It's too bad you didn't ask about Polyshades before you used it on a project or tried it on some scrap first. It is always best to try out an unfamiliar product before committing it to a good piece of work. Polyshades is a latter-day version of a varnish stain. Varnish stains do not work well for most purposes. And you have to stir frequently when applying so the stain stays mixed pretty evenly with the varnish part.

I have used Polyshades on occasion in a darker color to cover up a mediocre lighter finish on some old pieces, like bookcases. If you do it carefully, it is almost acceptable. As for it taking so long to dry, it may have been applied too thick, which also leads to ugliness. In the future for finishing, you should experiment with dyes and thinned polyurethane or other varnishes that you wipe on with a cloth pad or sponge.

I thin Arm-R-Seal or Waterlox with 1/3 to 1/2 mineral spirits and wipe on 4 or five coats. You don't get runs or sags like you do with full strength varnish. The key is to practice on wood that you don't care about in order to develop your finishing skills.


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## Skwat (Aug 2, 2012)

Joe, I truly am sorry tohear of your misfortune in using this product… It pains me to say that I worked for Sherwin Williams (the owners of the Minwax label) for a few years and am well acquainted with their quality control and testing. The lab techs put in a great deal of hard work trying to make a superior product, and are universally successful in doing so.
The problem begins with the production methods that are (were) forced upon those of us who actually made the product batches. We routinely had to include additions of out-of-date "comparable" product which had been returned by our vendors and large industrial consumers. The Production Supervisor at the plant I worked in was more concerned with trying to lower cost per batch numbers than he was in trying to produce a quality product. Our batches were typically made in the 5,00 to 25,000 gallon size and were built to the exacting standards set out by the lab. All testing was performed with amazing care and precision. Once the product passed the tests and was being drawn off by the filling department - that would be when the expired product was added to the mixer.
Since this addition was done after testing, the chances of the finish being what the formula called for (and what the batchmakers infact provided) were slim.
Eventually, that Production Supervisor was fired by the company (for other workplace violations) and this practice of adding expired product AFTER testing was stopped. At our plant at least. I can't speak for any of the nine other facilities in the U.S.
I can't help but think you got a compromised batch, since there is a very long shelf-life to this product. It's because of things like this that I'm glad I don't work there anymore. I know this dosen't help your situation, but at least you have a possible answer for the problem.


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## nwbusa (Feb 21, 2012)

How did I miss this review? Agree with JustJoe, Polyshades is a horrible, horrible product. Did I mention it was horrible? Yeah, reviews are opinions but this is a cold, hard fact: Minwax Polshades sucks. Horribly.


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