0.5 Pint Polyshades Stain & Poly Finish, Satin Aged Barrell

I can't tell  you when I bought my Minwax Polyshade, there's always some left in the can from a previous use, it's the only product I use!  It always goes on smooth and cleans up nicely and the furniture looks beautiful!

I'm a beginner furniture restorer and had asked a fellow office mate what he recommended and he instantly said PolyShades so I wouldn't have to do 2 different steps (according to him, my inexperience would make poly difficult). I read several forums and watched a few YouTube videos before attempting which let me know to sand my heart out to get an even playing field on my old 1920's hutch i was restoring even though PolyShades suggest you can stain without this step. 2 coats later and a have a nice deep color that's even and shiny. I was really worried i'd have streaking since others have complained about this but wasn't a problem at all probably due to the prep i took. Overall would highly recommend and would use again on another project.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] So, I have been in the wood working hobby for over 20 years, and I am glad I tried this one out. So, most stains are the same at least the process, time cure etc. But, I have found with this brand the coloring is more gradual, so you don't end up with a dark walnut immediately, you can gradually make it darker which is great if you are trying to match colors with other furniture in your house.

I was originally hesitant to buy this product after many bad reviews on this site but I'm a novice and don't have the time, money or space to do a whole sand down, stain and finish. So I bit the bullet and bought the Polyshades Royal Walnut in Satin and am very happy with the experience! It didn't turn out as dark as I wanted but I have to admit all the pieces look beautiful; and except for the dry time between coats, the smell and the cold from leaving my windows open to ventilate (all of which were not preventable whether I used this product or not) I'm very happy. In the future if there was a finish a little duller than satin I may prefer that instead. Thanks Minwax!

I found this produce very hard to work with, perhaps because of the combination of stain and poly -- streaky colors and gummy application. Using steel wool between coats, (as directed) is a mistake, even after 7 hours of drying time as it sticks to some parts of the finish that were apparently not fully cured. I wish I'd stayed with the traditional two step strain and finish process.

Review Polyshade After using PolyShades all in one my choice is to strip the oak table and chairs again or trash them PolyShades was blotchy and uneven. Unfortunately, this all-in-one polyurethane stain cannot be adjusted the way regular stain can be. This stuff is impossible to apply without the finish looking as though a 5-year-old did it. It's globby, uneven and just plain awful to use. It's almost as though it clots. I've refinished many pieces over the years but nothing has failed like this project has. I spent well over 20 hours stripping and sanding (3 steps to 240). I used Minwax prep, and several good brushes for the poly before I switched to a cotton cloth application. I applied three light coats. Then four...sanding lightly between each with a 240-grit sandpaper and then tacking for dust. My hope was that this would even out with more applications. It didn't. Too bad because it was a beautiful piece. Now I wonder if it is even salvageable. Very disappointed in the product and would rate it less than one star if I could.

Highly experienced wood crafter with over 30 years of experience and this is, by far THE WORST product. In theory, we thought it would be great, saving time and work. But we were so so so wrong. Carefully handcrafted a beautiful crib and changing table for our new grandson and this stuff pretty much ruined ALL of it. We are so utterly disappointed with the streaky, globby mess. And if minwax wants to blame the way we used it, we tried every single possible method, did the application precisely how they direct and its still looks awful. Minwax needs to remove this abhorrent product from the shelves. If you're using it on a straight, flat surface, it looks "ok" but not on hard to access areas, like crib spindles, any nooks or crannies, etc. You will ALWAYS get massive globs and streaks. Plainly, it straight up looks like crap.

I bought two of the satin finish espresso cans. One came out satin, the second is very obviously NOT satin and the can was mislabeled so now I need to sand it down buy another can and start over so the table matches the chairs I already did. Quality control is lacking.

I purchased this to give new life to an old dresser. It was difficult to get on, almost impossible to get an even coat and avoid drips. And, after waiting forever between coats, it took days to finish the project and we'll,...every time I look at it I kind of grimace. If you look from far away it's not bad, but up close its awful. Not even close to the results from a separate stain and poly. Now I need to invest more time and money into sanding, priming and painting it. I just can't find the energy to completely strip it so I can stain and poly the right way.

I tried to use this product on new, prepared red oak but it produces inconstant coverage - blotchy results. 2nd coat made it worse. Now I've given up and am just going to paint the the shelves white. PolyShades ruined my ability to do what I wanted to do. Now I have to invest more time and money in re-coating the shelves. Combining the polyurethane with stain sounded like a good idea - but isn't. I the future I'll go back to staining first THEN using polyurethane.