Hi all,

Looking at my user name you'll probably understand where I'm coming from. I made hard maple counter tops for my kitchen. I was matching (or attempting to match) the medium tone clear pine cabinets that I had done earlier. Unfortunately, I should have used dye to color it down first. (I'm so much smarter.....now ) So, I applied about a thousand coats of oil stain to try to get that nice medium value warm color. Then I applied a wipe on poly recommended to me by a sales person at Woodcrafters. Actually, both products were recommended to me by that sales person. Well, as you all can probably figure out, it was o.k. in the beginning, but not durable enough. I now have a gummy mess. I think that the oil stain is coming through the poly. I don't think I let the stain cure long enough in the first place. I don't want to just cover it over with that wipe on poly again. So I'm thinking...maybe a layer of orange shellac? Then use a spar varnish? Then a satin poly to knock down the gloss?

Any help would be appreciated.
boardbrain

I would say level it all out with 400 grit sand paper (buy a box), then hit with some steel wool #0000 Liberon for a satin sheen (look for a consistent look). Make sure not to rub out all the finish, then apply Waterlox spar varnish. Be warned it smells like crazy and takes a while to dry. Thin coats is a must, yet very user friendly. Apply with a rag which is folded to achieve a flat surface without any lumps or bumps, or anything dragging. Shellac can be applied first then a varnish.

FR

One of the main issues with polyurethane is that it's not really repairable for the most part.

I'm afraid that if you try to topcoat it with anything at all it will fail down the road. Usually in the form of large cracks throughout the topcoat finish.

You may get away with top coating it but if you want to be 100% sure that you will not have issues down the road the only way to deal with it is to remove the existing finish and start over.

Without a doubt this is what I would do in this situation. If you want to try to save it the idea of a sealer coat of shellac is a good one. This will provide a good barrier for the new topcoat.

Hey guys I really appreciate the comebacks. I have a tendency to go with the "do over" suggestion since I'm already torqued off at myself for letting this one get away from me in the first place. I'll probably go with FR's methods with the exception that I will take all the "finish" off. I'll be sure to follow up in the future on how it works out.