Attn wood finish purist.

[Fricasseekid]

I've never used a varnish before. Why would you want to mix stain with the varnish when you can just stain then varnish in a two coat process. Wouldn't the results be better that way? That's the way I usually do it with polyurethane and I have always had admirable results. How does the finish of a varnish compare to polyurethane?


I have a book shelf that I built in high school, it has been in continuous use for at least 12 years. I finished it with poly and I can't detect the slightest need for any maintenance.

[Fricasseekid]

But in the case where furniture is being sold; customers dont want to buy products that require constant maintenance. What finishes would you recommend then?

[Master Splinter]

Polyurethane. Quick to apply (with spray equipment) and quick to dry, and it dries nice and hard 'n glossy and you can put the piece on the showroom floor that afternoon.

Assuming it's something like a table in reasonable use in an average family, it'll look piano-gloss excellent for maybe a year or so, then it'll look good for another year or two or three, and by then (when the coating is damaged by use, is hazed by minute scratches from dragging things across it and wood movement or sap runs have opened up little fractures in the coating) no amount of Mr Sheen will make it look any better than just so-so.

People will just write this off as normal wear and tear and will buy another in a few more years.

[Woodwould]

Why would you want to mix stain with the varnish when you can just stain then varnish in a two coat process. Wouldn't the results be better that way?

Tinting varnish (or any type of coating) is the surest way to a disappointing finish. When the varnish is chipped or worn through on the highlights, the pale wood shows through accentuating the problem. Again, tinted varnish is used by the cheap end of industry and aimed at the DIY market where ignorant/lazy people want a one-shot coloured finish.

I have a book shelf that I built in high school, it has been in continuous use for at least 12 years. I finished it with poly and I can't detect the slightest need for any maintenance.

Bookshelves don't receive the same degree of wear and tear that chairs and tables do; in fact, they're seldom touched by anything, so it's understandable your bookshelf still looks the same after however many years.

I should have been clearer in my initial gambit; varnish is OK (if you like the look of varnish) for things like shelves, architraves etc. that aren't subject to wear and tear. It's only when varnish is handled and becomes damaged that it performs worse than just about any other finish.

[Fricasseekid]

So what do you guys think about a spar varnish like spar urethane?

[Woodwould]

Polyurethane is an excellent resin for making suspension bushes, but I can't recommend it for furniture coatings. PU varnish is an economical coating for manufacturers to produce and Joe can get a reasonable finish with it straight from the can.

Spar varnish is a long oil varnish, that is, it has a lot of oil in it which makes for a soft, flexible varnish. It was initially made for varnishing masts and spars on ships which, subjected to extreme fluctuating wet and dry conditions, were constantly swelling and shrinking. The soft, long oil varnish copes well with the expansion and contraction without cracking, thus it protects the timber. For this very reason, spar varnish is not a good varnish for indoor chairs and tables that will receive a lot of contact and handling – it's just too soft and would be easily damaged. It's an outdoor varnish and would be a fair choice for garden furniture – if you really want shiny garden furniture. But avoid spar varnish that contains PU.