Wipe-on poly Minwax vs Feast Watson

[Wongo]

Since Bunnings ruined another perfectly good brand, they no longer sell MinWax wipe-on ploy. Instead we are stuck this piece of $hiT Feast Watson. This is my laundry bench top finished with 7 coats of FW wipe on poly. It was left to dry for a week before I put a bottle of washing detergent on it. I have done a million table tops using MinWax and I was always happy with the results. This one really gets me.

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[Lyle]

Hello Wongo.
Was it a water based FW poly?
Lyle

[Wongo]

No it is oil based

[Wongo]

Goodness this is breaking real fast.

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[Wongo]

Moved the to a new location last night. This cabinet was finished over 4 weeks ago. You can see the marks on it just in 1 night. The bottom of the detergent was clean before I put it there last night.

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[44Ronin]

Why not mix your own, and save money?

[Bob38S]

Sorry to see the results Wongo.

Looks like a full strip and repeat. I would understand the reluctance to use the same again. I used the FW wipe on on a Turkish tiles frame and was not unhappy with it but it hangs on the wall and gets no “wear”. Used most of the rest on various surfaces and sizes and must admit that the larger the surface the more difficult it was to finish. As to durability, that is still an open question.

FW appear to have rationalised their product list and “changed” their product lineup. Have done a lot of work using pine, meranti and faced plywood, I prefer the look of spirit stains as they don’t “muddy” the surface, because of the porous nature of the timber and any end grain FW had a perfect product called Prooftint Pine Sealer, absolutely perfect as a blotch sealer and preventing end grain sucking up the stain to the point of being much darker than the surface. This product has been deleted and replaced with Timber Primer - for me, the less said the better. With regards the Wipe On, I bought another can but it is still mostly full and will probably end up in the bin when it goes off.

I have considered making my own wipe on but as you have also found, Minwax was the pick for ease of use, durability and consistent results. Reminds me a little of the old Castrol ads, “Oils ain’t Oils, Sol” and so “Wipe On ain’t Wipe On.”

ps. Forgot to mention, another issue I have with the “new/better” products ~ the timber primer which has replaced the pine sealer comes in a tin where the directions tell you to stir thoroughly but not to introduce air bubbles but the tin comes with the standard screw lid which gives you a hole of approx 30 mm not a removable full lid ~ stir well but don’t introduce bubbles, good luck with that one.

[Wongo]

Thanks Bob. I still have half a tin of minwax so I am going to use it put an additional 3 coats on top. Hopefully it will solve the problem. I will try to buy another tin of MinWax and I don't care if I have pay shipping cost from the US.

[Mr Brush]

I used to use the Minwax WOP, but when it became scarce I changed over to Osmo Polyx (satin) and haven't looked back. The Polyx can be applied by brush, roller, or a saturating coat rubbed in with a white 3M pad, depending on what thickness of finish you want to end up with. I've found that two wiped on coats gives excellent durability - the stuff is used for floors, so it's more than up to the job of protecting furniture. FW products I gave up on long ago.....

[Christos]

Where do you get the Osmo Polyx from?

I should have done a search before I asked the question as I found a retailer near me.

[Mr Brush]

There are quite a few YouTube vids on using the Polyx, for example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9Rp65DAarE

A search on Polyx will throw up several others. It seems to be a popular finish for furniture as well as floors.

[Mr Brush]

List of suppliers is here:

Where to buy - OSMO Australia

I get mine from Euro Style Floors in Banksmeadow, as they stock all Osmo products in a variety of sizes.

[Bob38S]

Thanks Bob. I still have half a tin of minwax so I am going to use it put an additional 3 coats on top. Hopefully it will solve the problem. I will try to buy another tin of MinWax and I don't care if I have pay shipping cost from the US.

Personally, I’d be a little wary of putting a “good” coat over a suspect surface. From your pix above the FW finish is not stable, simply putting an overcoat surface on it is not going to make it more stable. Hate to say it, but, if it was mine I’d remove the “old” surface, as annoying as that may be and the put the Minwax over the stripped surface.

[FenceFurniture]

I will try to buy another tin of MinWax and I don't care if I have pay shipping cost from the US.

It may be worthwhile going to a Home Hardware to see if they still have it. They used to be owned by Woollies (like Masters), and they certainly had other MinWax products in stock (I used to buy the water based PU from the local HH). I never noticed if they had WOP or not.

Now that may have changed since they have been bought out by Metcash - dunno.

[Bob38S]

So, how did it go?