Rust-Oleum 260165 Ultimate Polyurethane, 1 Quart, Matte

For my odd project, this worked out PERFECT. I have metal (entry) doors in my home and hollow wood doors for interior. Instead of replacing them with wood as that can be expensive, I decided to make my doors a faux wood look. This has been time consuming. I know they make a tool that will create a grain pattern but my doors already have a grain pattern. They are white though. So I painted them a tan color first. Then came back over them with stain..using a brush to try to create strokes similar to wood grain. Now let me say, the stain does not dry completely. It will dry to a tacky feeling and thats it. SO to help it along, I add the clear coat the next day and within 30 min-1 hour..it is dry and touchable. Since the stain doesn't completely dry, it is still shiny and not giving that wood look nor are the doors usable due to still being wet. So using this matte finish toned it down to similar to wood. It worked out perfectly for my project. I did 4 doors and have 10 more to go. By then I should be an expert at this. I did a door about 6 months ago and used (Minwax) satin clear coat and it was still a very high gloss. I also applied this matte to that door and now it is a matte finish so this worked great. I always had a problem with it being shiny (wet look). (first pic is shiny coat when stain that had not dried) Second photo is AFTER I applied the matte finish. I am happy with the outcome. I really was impressed with this product. I don't say that too often either.

This is the hands down the best matte poly on the market. I will give a few simple tips to get a very durable and beautiful finish for whatever you are working on. Its especially great for furniture with large flat sides.Sand your wood. 80, 120, 220, then 320.Apply a coat of shellac. Brush or wipe on. I prefer wipe on with t shirt material you can buy at any store such as Lowes.Let it dry for 15 minutes if your shop is warm. Colder = longer and apply a 2nd coat.If you have time wait 24 hours but I waited 15 minutes since it was warm in my shop.Sand at the highest grit you finished. In my case is was 320. Light sanding to make it smoothThen I apply the poly. First coat is heavy. I pour it on and wipe inWait 5-10 minutes to dry and apply a 2nd light coatSand again at 320At this point it should be very smooth with light hazing from sanding. Apply more coats if needed. Apply then 320For the final coat I take my time and apply a very light coat of poly by wiping on. Keep your head an an angle so you can make sure you are apply a consistent finish. Once applied let it dry and thats it.This is extremely forgiving. You can literally slap it on and it will dry to a beautiful matte finish. Ive done just poly and shellac as a base and prefer that. Shellac bring out the color in the wood better and gives a very good base coat. The poly will adhere to the shellac incredibly well. This finish leaves absolutely no gloss at all.

I have experimented for many years with different top coats. I refinish furniture as a hobby. I particularly like buying mid-century pieces and redoing them. I bought this wonderful piece that I wanted to be very careful with it. First, I used Rust-Oleum stain in walnut, and then 3 thib coats of the ultimate poly matte. All I can say is I was worried at first cuz I saw breast strokes which is the bane of my existence, rollers leave bubbles. I used a polyester brush and I don't think I've ever had a piece of furniture turnout. Better smooth to the touch flawless.

I had initially but Minwax polyurethane in Satin on my chalk painted piece and it was super shiny. I wanted matte. Then I purchased General Finishes Flat out Flat and put it over the poly satin and worked really well but it’s $35 a quart. Also it’s a thicker consistency and put very slight white-ish cast over the navy color.So glad I found Rust-Oleum matte poly. It’s far cheaper and works BETTER. And actually it has a more smooth finish than GF. It’s a lighter consistency and no white cast at all.The far left in photo is the GF Flat and next to it is the Rust-Oleum both on top of the satin poly. Looks similar but Rust-Oleum has deeper color. Both are completely matte.I also tried Polycrylic but it but a white streaky cast on the dark navy color. Had to sand and repaint. And it’s not truly matte like the other two. Not good for dark colors but works well on whites.