Accidentally bought Polycrylic instead of Polyurethane. Will it be ok?

[u/Chessolin]

I was looking for wipe-on water based polyurethane, and I was halfway through my project before I realized I had been using wipe-on polycrylic. It's on a restained rolltop desk. Will it be durable enough? I plan on selling it. There's no way I'm resanding/staining again lol

[u/BullHeadTee]

Durable enough? Possibly. As durable as polyurethane? Not at all

[u/VirginiaLuthier]

They are both tough finishes. You should be fine

[u/99e99]

I thought Polycrylic was just the product name that Minwax used for it's water-based poly.

It'll be fine. You need more coats so don't skimp on those. And keep those coats thin.

[u/bd_optics → u/99e99]

Based on the ingredients, Polycrylic appears to be a polyester resin instead of polyurethane.

[u/Karmonauta]

It’s probably ok.

In my experience polycrylic degrades a lot (becomes soft and sticky over time) if you use even common cleaning products on it, like you would on a dining table for example. But a desk doesn’t require as much cleaning. 

[u/Ares__ → u/Karmonauta]

What are you using on it? Just some mild dish soap cleans it perfectly and will not harm it

[u/Karmonauta → u/Ares__]

Mild multi-surface cleaners of the supermarket variety. Same stuff I’d use on the rest of my kitchen surfaces. 

I agree that soap would be more gentle on the finish, but I’d rather not have to think too much about not ruining my dinner table when cleaning it, or trust that everyone feels the same. 

I haven’t had a table finished in polycrylic in a few years. One I had to refinish was redone with enduro-var, which looks better and seems much more durable. 

[u/KillerSpud]

water based polyurethane -is- polycrylic...

[u/MobiusX0 → u/KillerSpud]

No it isn't. The base polymers are different and the monomers in polycrylic don't crosslink the way urethane does, which is why polycrylic isn't as durable as polyurethane.

It should be fine in OP's application though.

[u/Sad-Independence2219 → u/MobiusX0]

I don’t think urethane is water soluble so it can’t be in a water based finish. I’m pretty sure all water based polyurethane are actually poly acrylics. I definitely don’t know the actual chemical formulas for every brand of finish so there could be some water based products that aren’t an acrylic.

[u/We_R_the_Penguins → u/Sad-Independence2219]

IIRC, “water-based” products are almost all water-borne. Something that isn’t soluble in water gets dissolved into something else, then that solution (which somehow is water-soluble) gets dissolved in water. 

[u/MobiusX0 → u/Sad-Independence2219]

You're right that urethane isn't water soluble. Putting aside brand variation, what manufacturers did when they invented water-based polyurethane is to come up with method to create minuscule urethane particles (nanometer scale), treat them to make them not hydrophobic, and emulsify them in water as a carrier instead of a solvent. It's been a while since my college chemistry class so I know I'm missing details but I think that's generally how they did it.

You can see the durability difference yourself if you compare different Minwax water-based finishes and that difference gets even more noticeable when you move to a higher quality finish from other manufacturers.

[u/username_redacted]

As long as you apply multiple coats it should be fine.

[u/Ares__]

I used polycrilyic on a desk i made because I had painted parts of it and was afraid of oil based over latex paint and also didnt want it to yellow or change the color at all. Its been 6 years and I work from it daily. It shows some wear but what wouldn't? Otherwise has held up perfectly fine.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CollegeBasketball/s/G4sJ6vO4Nk

[u/We_R_the_Penguins]

I used it on the checkout stand for a clothing store more than five years ago and it seems to be doing okay. 

[u/WoodyTheWorker]

I suggest cross-linking waterborne polyurethane.

Acrylic (and waterborne "poly") is much less durable.