Skip to content
Woodworking Math

Learn · 5 min

Choosing a finish

Dry, recoat and cure times, where a finish may go, and what makers actually say about food contact: how to read a finish’s own data sheet.

Dry, recoat and cure are different times

Each finish’s own technical data sheet gives its times. Minwax says Polycrylic can be recoated after 2 hours and put to normal use after 24.

One source: Minwax (Sherwin-Williams), the maker of that finish [source 1]

Full cure takes much longer than dry: General Finishes gives its High Performance water-based topcoat 21 days to cure, though it is dry to the touch in half an hour.

One source: General Finishes, the maker of that finish [source 2]

The finish dry time chart lines up every finish the site covers, each from its own maker’s sheet; for a class of finish it shows the median of three or more makers.

Arithmetic: exact by definition

Indoors, outdoors, and food

Minwax rates its Helmsman Spar Urethane, which has UV blockers, for indoor and outdoor use, and its Polycrylic and Fast-Drying Polyurethane for indoor use. Read where the maker says a finish belongs.

One source: Minwax (Sherwin-Williams), the maker of those finishes [source 3, source 1, source 4]

Food contact for coatings is governed by FDA regulation 21 CFR 175.300. A finish isn’t “food safe” on anyone’s say-so: look for the maker’s own statement about the regulation it complies with.

One source: US Food and Drug Administration, the federal regulation [source 5]

Put it to work

Check yourself

  1. 1. Per Minwax, how soon can Polycrylic be recoated?

  2. 2. How long does General Finishes say High Performance takes to cure fully?

  3. 3. Which of these does its maker rate for outdoor use?

  4. 4. What governs food contact for coatings in the US?

0 of 4 answered

Sources

  1. Minwax (Sherwin-Williams), Polycrylic Protective Finish product page, read 2026-11-07
  2. General Finishes, High Performance Topcoat technical data sheet (April 2019), read 2026-11-07
  3. Minwax (Sherwin-Williams), Helmsman Spar Urethane product page, read 2026-11-07
  4. Minwax (Sherwin-Williams), Fast-Drying Polyurethane product page, read 2026-11-07
  5. US Food and Drug Administration, 21 CFR 175.300, Resinous and polymeric coatings (text via Cornell Law School LII), read 2026-11-07

How sources are counted and labelled: how we source these numbers.