Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - staining boo boo

:eek: I spent hours sanding down a large maple coffee table,(natural) I purchased Minwax Polyshades in Mahogany, applied with a stain brush but did NOT wipe off excess(it didn't say it in the directions) I now have a table with brush streaks all over it. What is my next move? Do I apply 4 or 5 coats and hope it darkens so its not noticed? I have 2 other side tables that I still need to stain, do I wipe off the excess on those tables? Does it make a difference because it has polyurethane in the stain? Help please!!!

You don't wipe off Minwax Polyshades, its not a wiping stain. It's apparently designed for customers who LIKE brushstrokes in their work. :wall: I hate the stuff.

More coats will tend to even out the brush strokes, but every coat you put on will darken the finish. You need to put that stuff on really thick to avoid brushstrokes.

You have 2 options the way I see it.

Quit while you're ahead, strip it all off and start over NOT using Polyshades, or keep applying the Polyshades in hopes that each coat hides the brushstrokes from the last coat.

When applying colored poly/varnish it is very important to apply the material very evenly. If what you have are lap marks, they will be quite hard to hide with additional coats. I prefer to use conventioal stain and then cover with 3 coats of clear poly. The only time I use tinted poly is when recoating something that I want to slightly change the color of.

i've had better luck using the foam "brushes" for not having brush marks. they're cheap & disposable & come in various widths.