I am making a new wood cab. The roof is painted but the sides are stained. I want to put a protective coating over it. Question is, should I use a Plyurethane coat (painted on) or will Krylon Clear coat work ok on wood? It says that it does. Any experience?
timmyd said:I would only use the Krylon for painted surfaces. Polyurethane will work better on the stained surfaces. You can buy spray on polyurethane, too, these days. You should do a bit of testing on some scraps to get a finish your happy with.
I am making a new wood cab. The roof is painted but the sides are stained. I want to put a protective coating over it. Question is, should I use a Plyurethane coat (painted on) or will Krylon Clear coat work ok on wood? It says that it does. Any experience?
-Brian
brian donovan said:timmyd said:I would only use the Krylon for painted surfaces. Polyurethane will work better on the stained surfaces. You can buy spray on polyurethane, too, these days. You should do a bit of testing on some scraps to get a finish your happy with.
I am making a new wood cab. The roof is painted but the sides are stained. I want to put a protective coating over it. Question is, should I use a Plyurethane coat (painted on) or will Krylon Clear coat work ok on wood? It says that it does. Any experience?-Brian
Thanks Brian. Do you think the Polyurethane will work ok on the painted services? It certainly would be easier to just use one.
The poly needs to be able to get into the wood to provide a protective surface. The paint would inhibit that.
From the Minwax website -
Prepare - includes preparing the wood’s surface and wood conditioning. Before you start a refinishing or finishing project, be sure that the wood’s surface is dry and free of old finishes in poor condition, paint, wax, grease, polish dirt or other foreign matter. If you plan to stain (we’ll talk about staining later), the surface must usually be completely free of old finishes.
-Brian
Ok… so, I guess I will use the Minwax on the stained surfaces and the Krylon on the painted surfaces. Thanks Brian!
Just be sure you use the polyurethane on both the inside and outside of the cab or you most likely will get warping bad enough to destroy the cab. 
Had a friend strip only one side of a square wooden mast base, thinking he would get it done in 4 days working on a side each evening. He called all distrot the next morning when his mast had taken on a defining warp. Once he got all 4 sides stripped of years of enamel, he was able to pull it all back into shape. Lots of anxiety went through his life over those next couple of days.
Got it! I spread the polyurethane on both the exterior and interior yesterday afternoon. Checked this morning and all looks fine. Will be adding another coat this evening.
Question… should I do some light sanding prior to adding another coat of the polyurethane?
For best adhesion, yes. First coats are kind of fragile, you can sand to far. After a couple of coats you want to turn everything milky/cloudy/white between coats and then get all dust removed with solvent (mineral spirits) and a tack rag. However, you are building a building, not a piece of furniture or refinishing a vessel.
Is Krylon actually waterproof these days? I once used it on a project that jusr got slightly damp and learned it wasn’t waterproof! I’ve stayed with Minwax since!