Sealing a stock

[frogwalking]

I have 3 coats of Permalyn sealer on a maple stock.  There are a few areas that will absorb more.  Should I continue on these areas until it no longer soaks it up?  How long should I wait between coats.  It is drying in the house with 45% humidity.  The can says 4 hours, but I have been applying it once per day.

[Kevin Houlihan]

Keep applying sealer until it won't take any more.  After it's saturated, wipe the stock to remove any excess and let it dry 24 hours.  When it's dry, rub the sealer coat down with Scotchbrite to get rid of any nubs and bumps and then you can start to apply the finish.
Kevin

[FDR]

After I stain I start with a couple of coats of Waterlox original or use dewaxed shellac (sanding sealer) then after it dries rub the stock down, then apply the oil finish or whatever. Saves a lot of wood pore filling time and you cannot tell it from the best London oil finish!

[B Shipman]

The first coat is the one that actually seals the stock.  I use about a third of the can on the first coat. Keep applying top to bottom until it's too sticky to work with. Then wipe it down so there's no runners. This gives you maximum penetration and reduces the number of follow up coats .

Permalyn is a modified  polyurethane that combines the qualities of a polyurethane and a spar varnish. It takes about a week for the polyurethane element to fully cross link.  But it "dries" in hours. If you don't wait at least 24 hrs, all you're doing with additional coats is removing almost as much superficial finish as you're applying. Wait is faster.

Time makes the varnish harder. Still flexible which is the genious of the stuff. But the best time to apply abrasives to get a great finish is after a couple of days, a week is way to late.