Polyurethane versus polyacrylic.

I get a lot of questions about this, and I have an amazing friend who builds furniture like it is going out of style. I am AMAZED at her S.K.I.L.L.S. Anyway, she just left me a comment on my Painting 101 post, and I thought it was a great enough tip that I added it right into the Painting 101 post.

I’ll also share the tip in this post for those of you who may have already visited the painting 101 post prior to today.

Below is her advice:

“Just a tip for your painting section… and using Polyurethane, you said that you don’t use it very often. Neither do I, but if i do need to seal up a piece of furniture (like my bar stools, that have glaze on them, it rubs off when they are wiped down over time or when they get heavy use) I like to use Polyacrylic. It is not as temperamental. Polyacrylic will not bubble, you do not have to prepare your brush with mineral spirits as you do with Polyurethane. It also does not turn yellow like polyurethane does, and it does not put off an odor like polyurethane, its great, and dries fast!” -Tami

So there you have it. If you need to seal a project. Especially those that get a lot of wear and tear, Tami, my friend who has furnished her entire house single-handedly, is definitely trustworthy on this subject. 

THANK YOU TAMI for the tip!

Published on April 24, 2010

12 thoughts on “Polyurethane versus polyacrylic.”

  1. Minwax now makes a wipe-on water-based poly (same thing as Polycrylic in a wipe-on version). I'm about to use it today for the first time, and I had to order it online because it wasn't available locally, but it seems to be another good option.

  2. Thank you so much for this tip! I've been looking for something to seal a counter that I painted, and I had heard that the polyurethane tends to yellow. I didn't know what else to use, and now I do! Thank you!

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  4. I am putting down a wood floor made from 1 x 6 pine.I love the finish that the wrote on poly gives, but not sure if it’s enough for floors.What do you think?

    1. Debbie,
      I wish I was more versed in this area, but I honestly don’t know. I would use a product specifically for floors. Can you ask a flooring expert in your area to help you? That’s who I would turn to. Good luck.

  5. We just totally repainted all our kitchen cabinets and used the wipe on poly to protect the white paint from little hands, and now two months later the parts that we put polly on are turning yellow!! Any idea why? Has anyone else had this experience? All that work, and now we will have to refinish again and have no idea how to protect the paint from spills.

    1. I know someone else that did that to their kitchen cabinets too, an now if they repaint them they will have a lot of work getting the poly off, I painted my kitchen cabinets white but I used Gloss Paint an Primer, so all I need to do if they get spills on them is to use some soap an water. I don’t’ think I would ever use poly of any kind on my white cabinets, because it does have a tendency to turn yellow.

    1. I recommend satin finish, and you can buy that finish in both polyurethane and polycrylic. Of course, I recommend polycrylic.

  6. Thanks! I need to preserve the finish on costume jewelry and saw recommendations to use polyurethane and acrylic and needed to choose between them. This helps! (i’m going with acrylic)

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