Minwax PolyShades Wood Stain + Polyurethane Finish – Quart, Pecan, Gloss

As an amateur, weekend, shade-tree woodworker who sometimes takes commissions and gets paid, I like to live the delusion that I'm doing "fine woodworking". Which means I tend to turn my nose up at such a common finish as minwax on any serious project, much less a combination stain and polyurethane. Except that I have always had good results witih Minwax's clear fast-drying poly for my home projects. So when the wife asked me to make something she saw in pinterest, I used common sande hardwood plywood from the big box store, and ordered this stain because it was pretty, and the wife doesn't really care if I'm using common hardware store finishes vs some expensive stuff peddled at high end woodworking shops.Honestly, I'm blown away. Both the evenness of the color and the uniformity of the finish are as good as in more expensive finishes. The ease of use is amazing - I just brush it on and treat it like a paint. (It specifically says on the can to not rub it on.) As long as I go with the grain, brush it out, and avoid drips, it looks really great. And while I fully expected otherwise, it does actually look like pecan. I'm going to do some test patches on scraps of hardwood plywood I have in my bin to see how well it works with species like maple, mapa, or oak. But it may be the case that for durable finishes, outside of a binary epoxy, this may be my new favorite option for stained hardwoods.

This Minwax polyurethane product works great, just follow the directions. Make sure your surface is clean and smooth or else you’ll get poor results. Start with a light coat. Let it dry overnight apply a second light coat and then the next day apply a heavy coat. I was very pleased with the results on the Hitchcock table I refinished.

I love the color, texture, and sheen. This is my personal favorite wood finish. Far superior I think to the water-based finishes on the market. Oil-based like this gives a rich veneer, while water creates a vinyl flooring look.

Beautiful color

I did find that this product will pond on a wood if you happen to put a little too much on each coat.

I did my whole house and save the brand I will kwep using on others floors awesome stuff

I absolutely love this 2 in 1. I’ve used it on oak and pine, both turned out beautiful and glossy. Very easy application.

I have used this product on several of my older wooden furniture and it really makes the furniture pop. I have gotten several comments on how great the furniture looks.