Helmsman disaster

JpHess

New User
Pat
For Christmas I was going to make a bath tub tray for the wife since she is both a bath time enthusiast and an avid reader. I used pine 1x2s, had wood conditioner, white wash stain, and I was going to finish with helmsman urathane because I thought overkill in under rated when it comes to protecting wood from water. Stain goes on wonderfully, now time for the helmsman (spray) I laid down the first light coat and it didn’t dry for 4 days. Then come to realize the finish didn’t come out clear. Turned the whole tray from white to a slightly tan white.
I’ve since sanded and refinished with a different product that worked as prescribed. But is there something I missed. All products were oil based, stain was given a full day to dry. My garage stayed at about 65 degrees.
any thoughts?
 

Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
Just my thoughts, if the product is not defective, then the choices causing failure would be these:

1. Humidity
2. Temperature
3. Other sealing products that were applied to the wood that are not compatible with the Helmsman varnish.

In the future, consider using bartop resin, it is clear and is dry in 1 hour and useable the next day. Also you can apply it when the unit is inside the home if you want full enviornment control.
 

JpHess

New User
Pat
Just my thoughts, if the product is not defective, then the choices causing failure would be these:

1. Humidity
2. Temperature
3. Other sealing products that were applied to the wood that are not compatible with the Helmsman varnish.

In the future, consider using bartop resin, it is clear and is dry in 1 hour and useable the next day. Also you can apply it when the unit is inside the home if you want full enviornment control.
I’ll keep an eye out for bar top next time. My next project will be a table top so that might be just what I’m looking for.
 

JpHess

New User
Pat
The can was purchased new. Though it did crap out on me and ditched its pressure. I purchased a new can and it didn’t perform any different. I’m using minwax oil poly now and I thinned it 2-1(mineral spirits) and it’s made a world of difference.
 

TENdriver

New User
TENdriver
Pat,

While a bad batch of product is always a possibility, I suspect chemical incompatibility issues between the different products could also be a likely cause.

My OCD side would probably compel me to query the manufacturers, but sometimes, they come back with some incredibly nonsensical explanations!
 

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