
How to thin polyurethane. Thinning polyurethane for spraying many different solvents can be used to thin poly but the resulting slow drying overspray can turn into a serious problem. You may want to thin your polyurethane for a variety of reasons. If you want to reduce dust nibs thin the last coat of polyurethane by 25 to 50 percent so it dries faster. Because you want to your finish coats to be less heavy because the polyurethane has thickened over time or just to clean your brushes or messes.
Its pretty rare that i would thin that much either but i do regularly cut it 25 30 for the first coat on floors. First coats purpose is to fill the pores raise the grain not to get a build. Most woodworkers want their polyurethane to reach a dust free stage faster not slower as evidenced by myth 4. To seal the wood before top coating thin your oil based polyurethane to one part mineral spirits and two parts polyurethane first gently stir the contents in the can.
Minimize this problem by applying thinner coats or by switching from standard brush on poly to a wipe on or spray finish both of which can be applied in very thin coats. Polyurethane is a common modern wood finish that can be purchased with either an oil or a water base.