Products for finishing or sealing timber and wood furniture

barjamhill

Hi,

I'm not very knowledgeable about the wood working world so excuse my terminology if it's wrong.

I am looking for a water based polyurethane. From watching a few YouTube videos, mostly American based, I hear this mentioned a lot. Minwax being one of the brand names.
Basically I'm looking for the Irish version of it. I am hoping someone could recommend a product for me.

I am also looking for something to seal painted timber. I painted an old table but surface is getting a bit worn and I would prefer to have a tougher finish.

If anyone could help me out I would appreciate it.

tabby aspreme

Most hardware and paint shops will stock water based polyurethane, ask for fast drying wood varnish

barjamhill

tabby aspreme wrote: »

Most hardware and paint shops will stock water based polyurethane, ask for fast drying wood varnish

Thanks for that Tabby. I'll have a look at the weekend.

recipio

barjamhill wrote: »

Hi,

I'm not very knowledgeable about the wood working world so excuse my terminology if it's wrong.

I am looking for a water based polyurethane. From watching a few YouTube videos, mostly American based, I hear this mentioned a lot. Minwax being one of the brand names.
Basically I'm looking for the Irish version of it. I am hoping someone could recommend a product for me.

I am also looking for something to seal painted timber. I painted an old table but surface is getting a bit worn and I would prefer to have a tougher finish.

If anyone could help me out I would appreciate it.

Is there a reason you want a water based finish. ? I've tried them and wasn't very happy - they leave a slight 'rainbow' sheen on the surface. I know that professional makers occasional use them if they have no spray facilities and Hydrocote seems to be popular. Ronseal used to sell water based finishes in square cans but i don't see much of them now.An alternative is acrylic based finishes but i don't think they have the depth of finish that cellulose has,
As for the painted surfaces you could use a shellac finish which will adhere to almost anything but just repainting is easier ?

barjamhill

recipio wrote: »

Is there a reason you want a water based finish. ? I've tried them and wasn't very happy - they leave a slight 'rainbow' sheen on the surface. I know that professional makers occasional use them if they have no spray facilities and Hydrocote seems to be popular. Ronseal used to sell water based finishes in square cans but i don't see much of them now.An alternative is acrylic based finishes but i don't think they have the depth of finish that cellulose has,
As for the painted surfaces you could use a shellac finish which will adhere to almost anything but just repainting is easier ?

Hi Recipio, thanks for your response. I took your advice and just repainted the table.

Just to try to explain, I had sanded off layers of old varnish, which had changed the colour from a pale pine colour to a dark orange. It was a cheap old piece but I don't like throwing things out so wanted to re-do it but keep the paler colour. I thought a water based would work better to keep the original timber colour. I'll into those products you recommended thanks.

recipio

barjamhill wrote: »

Hi Recipio, thanks for your response. I took your advice and just repainted the table.

Just to try to explain, I had sanded off layers of old varnish, which had changed the colour from a pale pine colour to a dark orange. It was a cheap old piece but I don't like throwing things out so wanted to re-do it but keep the paler colour. I thought a water based would work better to keep the original timber colour. I'll into those products you recommended thanks.

Is it back to bare wood. ? Any of the 'fast drying' varnishes are likely to be water based and you can get them in all the hardware chains. For a really good job invest in a quality varnish brush -about 10 euro - it makes all the difference.