Wipe-on polyurethane
Wipe-on polyurethane goes on with a cloth in thin coats instead of a brush. Rust-Oleum’s Watco Wipe-On Poly sheet gives it 2–4 hours to dry to the touch, 4–6 hours before the next coat and 24 hours to cure, at 70 °F and 50 % humidity, and recommends three coats.
Because each coat is thin, it covers less per can than a brushed finish: Watco prints 50–100 sq ft per quart. We have read only this one maker’s sheet so far, so there is no class value yet, and no mixing ratio for making your own wiping poly, because no maker we read publishes one.
Wipe-on polyurethane, by its maker
Wipe-on polyurethane: recoat across makers
Only one maker’s sheet so far, so no class value: see its own figure below.
Wipe-on polyurethane: coverage across makers
Only one maker prints a coverage, so no class value: see its own figure below.
| Product | Touch-dry | Recoat | Use | Full cure | Coverage | Thinning and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watco Wipe-On Poly One source: Rust-Oleum (Watco), the maker of that product | 2–4 h | 4–6 h | — | 1 day | 50–100 sq ft per quart | Conditions: 70 °F, 50 % RH; apply at 60–90 °F, RH under 85 %.Handle after 8–12 hours; three coats recommended. Coverage printed per 946 mL (a US quart). |
Compared with other finishes
Work it out for your project
Times are the makers' own at the temperature and humidity they name, and several of them say cooler, damper conditions slow their finishes. For how much to buy, the finish coverage calculator uses these same coverage figures. Every finish side by side: the finish dry time chart. What the federal rules say about finishes and food: food-contact finishes.
Elsewhere in finishing: shellac and the shellac cut calculator; for repairs before the finish, wood filler vs wood putty; and for the glue-up, wood glue types.