Wipe on poly over paint. I was instantly intrigued when I heard about this relatively new wipe on poly top coat. As you may already know I paint a lot of furniture. I often try new products to determine if I’m still using the top products. Especially when I think there may be a new alternative thats better and saves me time! In trying this wipe on poly over paint I hope to uncover if this product is better than my holy grail top coat! I’ll share below how I used it, the methods in which I applied it and a full and honest review once I finished

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**please note this post contains affiliate links

Full disclosure I reached out to Fusion Mineral paint to work with them on this project. I am always looking for product I think you as my readers may find useful and this was one of those! So huge shout out to them for patterning with me on this project.

Video Tutorial and Review of Wipe On Poly

Wipe On Poly Over Paint Product Details

For starters let me introduce the actual product to you guys. This is a wipe on poly top coat with a matte finish that claimed to be non yellowing from the brand Fusion Mineral Paint. I recently did a full review on their mineral paint if you want to check it out.

Here is a little more info directly from Fusion Mineral Paints website:

“Tough Coat? uses only 100% acrylic resin and is perfect as a top coat sealer for those high traffic?surfaces such as table tops, seating, doors and dries to a matte finish. Fusion??Tough Coat?differs from our competition with its use of pure non yellowing acrylic.

The keys to applying?Tough Coat? to your projects are: Use sparingly and work quickly as it dries fast! When applying, do not pass over the same area more than 2-3 times. We recommend using a fine microfiber applicator like our applicator pads for a smooth consistent finish.

If applying to a recently painted surface, allow the surface to dry for 12 hours before applying. For maximum durability, apply two coats waiting 2-4 hours between applications. In humid areas, longer drying times may be required.

Tip: When applied to darker colours, imperfections may be more noticeable. It is best to sand down any imperfections between coats to acquire that flawless finish.

Be sure to gently mix your?Tough Coat? by gently rolling it around prior to using it as the matting agent and other ingredients may settle to the bottom. Do not shake vigorously as this will cause air bubbles in your piece that are difficult to remove once applied. If bubbles begin to occur on your piece, simply remove excess?Tough Coat? from your brush and gently brush out the bubbles.?Tough Coat? will begin to dry as you?re using it. In order to avoid brush strokes, try not to spend too much time on one spot and do not back brush (usually no longer than 30 seconds).”

I share the above with you so you can fully understand what type of product this wipe on poly is, what projects it may be best used for and what Fusion Mineral Paint claims as far as durability, application finish etc.

Fusion Mineral Paint Wipe On Poly Over Paint Tutorial

Before I began using the wipe on poly, I painted this solid wood dresser using fusion mineral paint in the color lamp white which is a very soft gray. ?This color fits into the reccomended “lighter color range” they suggest for using this tough coat wipe on poly.

I also lightly sanded and distressed it before I used the wipe on poly over paint.

The Supplies You Need:

• -old T-shirt (preferably light colored)
• -microfiber cloth in lieu of t shirt
• -wipe on poly
• -gloves
• -goggles
• -face mask
• paint stick?

How to apply wipe on poly over paint:

To begin I started by simply stirring my wipe on poly tough coat with a paint stick I used a thinner one so that it would fit into the opening of the bottle once the lid was off.

Once stirred, I got my t-shirt damp and rung out the excess water.

Then, I started by pouring a small amount of the wipe on poly directly on to my dresser drawer. I stared with the drawer just in case things went poorly, ?it would be easy to re-paint a drawer verses the whole body or frame of the dresser.

Initial Impression

Things went very quickly with the wipe on poly. I easily saturated the entire surface of the drawer. It seemed I was finished with the drawer once the entire surface appeared “wet”

This was one of the trickier aspects of the process. Since I had gotten my T-shirt wet it was harder to determine if the surface was wet because I had touched it with the t-shirt of from the poly. I may have used a little more product than needed trying to be sure that the entire thing was covered. Later I realized it was probably getting saturated much easier than I assumed.

Once the first drawer was covered in the wipe on poly I moved on to the next. I was impressed by how quickly it applied with this method

As I applied the wipe on poly I tried various methods of application.

• pouring onto the dresser then wiping
• pouring onto my cloth then wiping
• I even tried using a brush

My favorite method was pouring directly onto the dresser then wiping. I felt like I could see better where the product was going with this method. I was not impressed with how it applied with the brush and it also seemed to take more product. There really was no difference in the end appearance of the first two methods. Rubbing out the polyurethane finish really was so simple. I was afraid that this method might get streaky but it didn’t at all. It was clear the wipe on polyurethane vs the brush on method was simpler with a brush free finish.

Final Steps

Once I applied the full first coat I waited for it to dry. It says to allow 2-4 hours before drying time. There is no instruction on weather you should be sanding between polyurethane coats for this wipe on poly. I decided I would let it dry and decide what I thought was best.

Once I returned to the dresser several hours later I was a little bummed to realize that it was yellow. There was a very light yellow

cast all over. Especially in the smaller cracks and details of the dresser. I seriously contemplated completely painting over the whole thing. Ultimately I decided to leave it as is not applying any more coats and moved it into my home.

Final Review of Mineral Fusion’s Wipe On Poly Tough Coat

Here are my final thoughts after using Mineral Fusions wipe on poly. Initially I was very impressed with the ease of application. There was little to no odor at all. I also enjoyed that it applied very quickly. In addition it also used very little product to cover the entire 3 drawer dresser I have more than half a bottle remaining.

I also felt like it dried reasonably. Not to fast making it easy to wipe of imperfections. but not too slow either. The finish is completely streak and brush free which is absolutely beautiful almost as if there is not top coat added at all. This wipe on poly has a low ?level of difficulty and any beginner could use this product successfully!

I would also like to add that it really is a matte finish. I have recently talked about how it is very difficult to find a matte finish from a top coat. This one is very matte indeed keeping the original finish of the fusion mineral paint in tact. Additionally I love that its a water based formula. This means it will easily clean out of any cloth or tool you may use to apply it.

PROS:

• Easy to apply
• Quick application
• Low to no odor at all
• Little product goes a long way
• Dries reasonably not too slow or fast
• No streaks
• No brush strokes
• Smooth beautiful finish
• True matte finish
• Water based
• You only need an old T-shirt so you save on supplies to apply

CONS

• Yellow cast
• not as durable as I would have liked
• not finger print resistant
• can’t use on dark or medium colors

While the Con list is much lower than the Pro list, I am still un happy with the end results. For me this product is a pass since it did leave a yellow cast. I also am looking for a much more durable finish in a top coat. I found that as we have lived with it over the last few months, it has gotten lots of little finger prints on it.

My favorite top coat I shared in this post. The Varathane unique soft touch polyurethane. I have found is much more durable, has a beautiful matte finish, is 100% non yellowing. It is not quite as easy to apply but the results are worth the effort. I would recommend that you spend your money on the Varathane since this one leaves a yellow cast. Plus you can use the Varathane poly on any finish or color you desire.

I hope you guys enjoyed this review. I hope it gave you a great invite on how this wipe on poly applied and if it may or may not be there right product for you!

XO Haley