[Eddy Smiles]

I use a lot of oil based stains with multiple coats of oil based polyurethane to provide a high gloss finish. I like oil stains because in my limited experience they give better coverage and turn out much richer. Dumb as it may sound I recently discovered water based urethane and although I'm not quite sure I trust it for exterior applications, I love the fact that it dries quickly and doesn't change either the natural hue of the wood or the applied stain, yellow.
My question is... can a water based urethane product be used over an oil based stain with any assurance that there won't be an adhesion problem, either immeadiately or somewhere down the road? Any tips?

[Mitchell]

We get questions like this on occasion = finish/paint compatabiltiy.....

One of the best ways to determine what will REALLY work is to do a test piece or two and try a few combinations. This way, you can actually see how it works. The only draw back is that it takes some time and "somewhere down the road" may not be easily determined.

The reason I put REALLY is that supposedly oil and water don't mix, but many carvers mix the two between painting and finishing without any apparent (reported) complications.

I don't remember anyone coming back and giving an outcome to any test piece trials....I'm pretty much used to being ignored though......

[Alice in Wonderland]

I use only natural finishing and I have this glued over my working area Waterproducts over Oil products "YES"
Oil NEVER on top of waterbased products.
simple: Water over Oil
Alice

[Eddy Smiles]

Interesting! I always remember when latex products came on the market that a good sanding or primer was required to get them to stick to oil based paints. But that was back in pre-Cro-magnon days so I'll defer to your recommendation. Especially since this is a Valentine's gift and I'm running out of time.

Like the Mad Hater said.... I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date, no time to say good by, good by, ... I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!"

Thanks Alice in Wonderland!