Hi guys,

Just after some advice before applying the final coat of oil-based polyurethane onto my floors.
I have two slightly different Minwax products and just wanted to know if it was safe to mix them? One of them is 350 V.O.C Compliant and the other is not.

The exact products I have are:

Super Fast Drying Polyurethane for Floors – GLOSS
Super Fast Drying Polyurethane for Floors – SATIN (350 V.O.C Compliant)

I have contacted Minwax directly in regards to this issue and have gotten two completely different answers so I thought I'd ask here.

One of the Minwax reps said they cannot be mixed together as one is a lower VOC version and therefore a different chemical make-up from the other polyurethane. If they were both 350 VOC or both not 350 VOC I could mix them even though the sheens are different.

Another rep replied and said they could be mixed because the are both part of the 'Super Fast Drying' series of polyurethanes.

Has anyone had experience mixing VOC and non-VOC polys? Any advice would be much appreciated!

I'm not a stain expert, but in my experience you shouldn't be mixing different products together, since that will likely void any warranties you may have with the hardwood or the installation. Good that you went to the manufacturer for written documentation, but I suspect given the 2 different answers, that even they haven't come across anyone wanting to mix before. Can I ask why you need to combine the products? Are you trying to get a different sheen level by mixing the Gloss with the Satin?

If that's the case, you might be better off going to a paint store like a benjamin moore or sherwin williams and get them to make a custom stain and top coat for you. Depending on the store, you can ask them to prepare some samples in various gloss level and then pick the one you like and they'll mix up a gallon or whatever you need.