I'm curious. I just read clusteroid's thread about finishing a desk. It seems that all the folks who are knowledgeable about such things shy away from poly.
I have used it quite a bit (along with other finishes - but not yet shellac), and have had very good results. It wears well, looks good, and is fairly easy to apply to furniture (notice I didn't say trim :no.
But nearly all the folks who do a lot of finishing, grimace when you mention poly. What am I missing?
Personally, I like polyurethane for the durability and use it all the time. I think many of the workers here shy away from it because it's not in "classic furniture style." I agree, poly doesn't look as "warm" as a hand-rubbed oil finish, but it's a lot tougher. And the water resistance is nice too.
I agree and use poly a lot. However, on a fine piece of furniture like many of the guys here build, I would probably shy away from it for the "classic furniture style" option.
I did put two thin coats of poly on it. I used spray-on poly from an aerosol can. It's very expensive but goes on extremely smooth and dries quickly. Also, I've found that poly thinned with mineral spirits, dries much faster and doesn't get dust nibs so bad.
Polyurethane varnish is alkd resin varnish with a small amount of polyurethane resin added, its only perceived advantage is a slight bit of abrasion resistance. The trade off is a finish that yellows more quickly is harder to repair and can't survive in direct sunshine and beside all this is does not look good to me. So if you are not going to walk on your furniture it really isn't necessary.
The answers are neither right or wrong, but reflect individual preferences. What you're reading are opinions. I can only speak for myself concerning my preferences which I haven't avoided explaining. For someone that does a lot of finishing or for the professional who does finishing, a reason may be that it takes too long to dry and cure, casts an amber hue, is a PITA to spray, and maintains an odor for extended period of time.
As for durability, I can say that It may be a good reason to use it if I want a finish that would withstand it being walked on. That sounds pretty durable to me. I've used it, and have used lacquer in lieu of it as it's a faster finish. Years ago I went almost entirely to water based finishes because of their fast dry times, stays clear, less toxicity than lacquer, and cleans up with water.
There are waterbased finishes that IMO are equal to lacquer and some are as durable as oilbase polyurethane.
I do custom cabinets for my living, and for kitchen and bathroom cabinets, I spray a satin polyurethane. I find it very easy to spray, and it dries overnight. Yes, it has to be sanded between coats, which is a PITA, but I put it on a restaurant bus cabinet I built 10 years ago, and it gets really hard use. the only place it has any issues are a couple spots where someone dented the cabinet.
As I've mentioned in previous posts on this subject, I have only seen 2 lacquer jobs hold up to moisture over time without water spotting. So I don't use it.
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