Customer Reviews for Varathane 1 qt. Clear Semi-Gloss Oil-Based Interior Polyurethane

Polyed three rooms totally about 450 sq ft total. I went with Varanthane because it's at my local stores.. I'm now getting ready to screen sand my third coat because of two laps marks... First coat I went with a roller, varanthane's applicator instructions do not specify what applicator to use... I tried a roller on the first coat, because it seemed like the best choice for a noob. I ended up with some lap marks but thought it was because I went back over some already drying areas.. Next I buff sanded my 1st coat using a pole sander with 220 grit.. This time I switched to a lambswool applicator in an attempt to avoid lap marks. 2nd coat came out better in some regards, but the lambswool left some visible marks in the finish as well. So sanded the 2nd coat again 220 sanding screen, but this time with a buffer. For the third coat I went back to a roller because lambs vs roller I basically got the same result. On the third coat I was extra careful.. Made sure it was under 85 degrees, went the full length of the floorboards in one motion, used good even material on the roller etc.. I still see two lap marks! I'm sanding for the fourth time now and am going to give it one more go. If I knew it would be this hard to get a C result with varathane I would have went with a better name brand, even if it was double the cost! The floors do look good otherwise, but this stuff is not user friendly in my opinion. I've been painting walls for thirty years and never had an ounce of trouble, I know it's a different application but it does have some similarities. I think if you're a decent painter, you should be able to put down a good coat with this stuff. I wasn't so lucky so far. These floor were drum sanded 24-100 grit, edged 24-100 grit, hand sanded the edges with 100 grit and then a 220 pole sand was done before the first coat and in between coats.

I used Minwax oil-based polyurethane 8 oz and then I used Varathane oil-based polyurethane for my dining table restoration. It was not enough to cover the entire of dining table though. I think I have to get 1qt next time. I think Varathane showed better performance such as remaining less brush stroke and looking more clear than minwax. However, Varathane was drying so fast so you have to be very careful when you apply it. I think If I apply it faster then I can have much better result.

This product required little stirring and went on easily. It self leveled nicely.

Goes on quick and easy dries fast. You can reapply in 4 hours without sanding. I used it on my new stairs and I loved it.

My first time with any kind of woodwork. Though I had a general idea about paints and top coat I had to watch a lot of videos to get it right. The poly is thick in it's base form and the first coat I applied seemed streaky and bumpy and after sanding I realized I took off 50% of the coat. I was using a disposable foam brush, not sure if that was a problem. So back to YouTube and a few more videos later I added 25% mineral spirits to the poly before applying the second coat and the thinner consistency made it easier to apply the paint and also smooth over any bubble. The next sanding was appeared to be a lot more even and then the 3rd and last coat made me raise my arm and oat myself of the back. Most of my adventure and challenges could be rookie mistakes but look the final outcome. I haven't tried any other brands of Poly but this is good enough for me to buy again since I trust it and know how to work it now.

Surface crinckles and breaks up while drying. See pics. Very difficult to achieve a glossy level surface. I did not have this problem with the competing brand (Duraseal) that i also used this month.

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

Went on smooth and easy, dried quick and used three coats like recommended! Excellent product, not even that bad of an order but was done on a door in my garage just in case the smell was too strong and truthfully it wasn't over powering and left the area quickly.

I love this polyurethane!!! I am restoring an old house and used this on everything!! It’s shiny, high gloss clear shine made the natural wood show through.. It’s a wonderful product.

Works great!

Goes on smoothly, covers well, dries quickly. Works well with foam brush. No air bubbles. Very happy with this product.

follow directions and product is flawless

Easy to apply, fast drying did not really need sanding down. The glossy is perfect for my project. Smooth finish very nice product.

Best product for your money. Satisfaction guaranteed!

Great polyurethane! Easy to use , goes on smooth!

I am extremely disappointed in this product. I have used Minwax products for years and have had excellent results, but when Home Depot stopped carrying them I went with their substitute. I have never been more disappointed with a product. Firstly there is no way to put down a thin even coat. if you want an even coating you have to slather on 4x more product than necessary, and then rapidly move from end to end as the edges start to set in 5 minutes or less. The product is so thick it pools easily, and if you don't catch a pool within a few minutes (easy to do on large surfaces like a desk top) then the outline of the pool it almost impossible to resolve without slathering on even more of this terrible product. As the product sets up quickly, there is no way to finely go over the full surface as the brush starts sticking, and the product is so thick bubbles form *constantly* which then cannot be brushed out! I had to tear off the desktop and completely re-finish and stain a new one, costing dozens of hours of work, all because of a bad product. Do not buy this product. Go and get a polyurethane that works.

I did my first hardwood flooring refinish and used it. I only did 1 coat due to time constraints. The floor looks amazing and has held up against scratching as I have little foster kids dragging toys and stuff all over it. Easy to clean up as well using a little dirt devil vacuum and swiffer wipes.

Excellent product

looks nice on my doors - really brings out the wood grain - I'll use it again on the trim

Used this on an old door that had to be scraped and bondo(ed). It was a mess. Put 3 coats of this on after staining. The picture doesn't do it justice. Can't tell you how gorgeous this door turned out! You can see your reflection in it. Would definitely use it again. Excellent product.

I used this on a bookcase I built for my wife's birthday. Worked as expected. no issues.

This is a mid to late 1800’s Minister’s podium I refinished and restored for a client. It had 8 layers of paint; from ancient alkyd to modern gold spray paint! Underneath was a beautiful cherry. I’ll spare the details of how long it took to properly prepare the wood for finishing though.

This is a mid to late 1800’s Minister’s podium I refinished and restored for a client. It had 8 layers of paint; from ancient alkyd to modern gold spray paint! Underneath was a beautiful cherry. I’ll spare the details of how long it took to properly prepare the wood for finishing though.

As always, the name says it all. The old school oil base will not let you down. Strongly suggest at least 3 regular coats. Not to much of a issue seeing this dryes pretty quick. I did a coat in about 2.5 to 3 hours. Really made the grain pop. This was done in Cherry and Maple.

First time using this product because like others have said, it is what HD is now selling. I had high expectations. I was using a foam brush and I felt it was sticking to the plywood a little too much. I tried dabbing on more material figuring it would allow spreading easier but it didn't help much. It actually pulled the foam off the handle. After the first coat dried, overnight, the layer didn't seem like much. I lightly sanded and applied the second coat. Second coat also pulled the foam off the handle. After that coat dried, again over night, I could still see/feel the grain in the wood. They say to apply 3 coats and this product requires it. From an angle I was expecting to see a glass looking top but I did not. I used up the quart on a 4' x 3' tabletop so I wasn't being stingy with it but it still needed more coats. I decided to buy the minwax at Lowes instead. They recommend minimum 2 coats. First coat was just applied and I noticed a difference in the application. The foam did not pull off the handle. I know I'm coating over dried polyurethane so I expected it to go on easier but so should have the second coat of the Varathane. I plan to apply one more coat to basically use up the rest of the can but in the future will just buy the minwax. Seems to be a better product for the same price.

The Polyurethane went on great and didn't leave hardly any brush strokes.

First timer. Nice finish. Thick & sticky to apply, so use appropriate quality brush. sand with 220 grit or #00 steel wool between coats. Watch your drips & runs. Cleanup with mineral spirits

It's great. Needs to be used when it is opened. Don't use most of it today and try to use remainder on another day cause it won't take well.

Brilliant shine as expected

5 cans purchased. Three were NOT Satin. They were high gloss. Lost work! Lost time! Lost molding! Dissatisfied customer. Obviously poor quality control in packaging!