Learned a tough lesson about polyurethane coats in the garage yesterday

I was finishing a walnut table for a client in Phoenix and tried to rush the second coat of polyurethane. The temp was like 95 in my garage and it started bubbling up everywhere. Had to sand the whole thing down to bare wood and start over. Anyone else deal with bubbles in hot weather?

3 comments

3 Comments

skylerp311mo ago

I started mixing in a few drops of penetrating epoxy with my poly when it gets that hot and it completely fixed the bubbling problem for me. Thins it out just enough so the air can escape before it starts to set up. You have to work fast though, like 10 minutes tops before it gets too tacky. Also keeping a fan pointed at the piece while it dries helped me a ton with the heat issue. What temp do you usually aim for when you're doing finishes?

jordanc321mo ago

Learned that one the hard way with a bar top last summer.

caleb_ross121mo ago

@skylerp31 thats a good tip with the epoxy, I usually just let the poly sit in front of a fan for 15 minutes before applying and it helps with the bubbles too. Had the same thing happen with a cherry desk in July last year, now I only finish stuff when its under 80 in the garage.