Experiment in oil based polyurethane goes well!

[Woodenfish]

I am building a quartersawn oak Shaker style bathroom vanity and finishing it in Varathane oil based satin polyurethane. It’s been warm and humid here lately and this finish dries pretty fast. The object was to give the project two coats without sanding in between. Get it in and get it done while making this oak cabinet the best I could. The first coat I applied straight from the can and brushed small amounts on at a time very thinly and was careful not to over brush the finish. Inspection of this coat was without flaw. After drying several hours I gently wiped the finish with a dry Scott blue shop towel and began my last thin coat. Things were going very nicely and it looked very good as it was applied.

After a few minutes the finish started to cure and I could see the wetness leave and be replaced by the soft glow of the satin finish. I inspected the overall finish with a bright LED handheld shop light and noticed a couple of flaws in my application. In a couple of areas the finish was either a little thicker than I had wanted or a sag had formed on an edge. None of these small minor flaws could get past my OCD.

I had to take action. I reached for a fresh Scott’s blue wipe, wrapped it onto my finger and dipped it into some mineral spirits so that it was very wet with solvent. I gently rubbed the finish in attempt to smoothen out the flaws in the finish. I started with one in an inconspicuous spot and found that it worked perfectly. From there I went about fixing every error I could find and when the finish has cured it looked absolutely perfect. 

I have brushed a lot of poly in my day and have read many writing about how to do but never how to fix while doing. I had not heard of anyone attempting this before but want to share it here with all you great people as a tip.