General Finishes High Performance Water Based Topcoat, 1 Pint, Satin

I had a small job of 3 barstools that were wood stained but I wanted them dark and all the same color. The Fired Earth paint looked great but I needed to seal not only to be sure the paint wouldn't rub off, but to give it more of a 'slick' surface to slide on and off the stools. I didn't need an entire quart for that and have plenty left over but there will be other jobs. I stirred the sealer well. I used a paintbrush to apply. I was a little worried at first because some reviews made me think this would be a little more difficult than it actually was, but I'm confident now to do other projects. I used this over an exterior paint because I like the color but this was not oil-based paint. I put on two coats of paint and let that dry a couple of days, then I used this sealer. I took the stools outside to be sure there was ventilation though this doesn't have a strong smell. It was easy to apply. Very runny and watery (I have the water-based formula), which helped me to apply it easily, but it is drippy so make sure you put something underneath or around to protect other surfaces. I worked rather quickly since the humidity is very low here this time of year. If you don't work somewhat quickly, it begins to dry out a little and becomes a little 'tacky.' I did two coats -- I let the first coat dry about 3 hours, then I lightly sanded, very lightly, with one of those sanding 'sponges' (they look like sponges but are very light sanders), wiped off the dust residue, and then applied the second coat, which I let dry about 4 hours before I brought my stools back in the house. I don't notice any odor in my house from the stain. They look beautiful! Satin is just enough that they aren't highly glossed but have a slight sheen. I am very happy with out they turned out. I'd love to try the matte on some rocking chairs I painted last year. The only thing that irritated me is days after I ordered my quart, the price went down $5--this is how it goes on Amazon, so nothing to do about that, but it still made me irritated. Other than that, I'm happy.

Amateur woodworker, have applied a variety of finishes over the years - varnish, shellac, poly’s, oils, etc. Have never written about any of them because, well, they do what you expect. This product however, the GF water-based satin finish “top coat”, is worthy of a few sentences. Applies very easily, just make sure to stir it - not shake it in the can - prior to use as its a milky looking concoction that tends to separate a bit. Plastic spoons work great. Goes on all too easily. Brush, foam, rag, whatever - it levels itself out better than just about anything I can remember using. Dries in an hour for next coats (as desired), which is great. The finish on, say, hard maple with just a couple of coats is sublime. Just gorgeous. A very slight sheen, invisible at some angles, and silky smooth, looks like it came out of a factory. If you need a high gloss shine then of course this isn’t for you. But for certain furniture, gun stocks, items where you want the grain to be the star of the show, this stuff is absolutely perfect. Five stars.

This is by far my favorite poly to use over water based stains and dyes and even latex paint. Now I am a huge huge fan of General Finishes products. By far some of the best stains, dyes, and poly's on the market. In face the only think I dont like about General Finishes products is that I can not find them in stores. You have to plan ahead and order this stuff somewhere online. These days though. All of the best stuff has to be ordered. My being a fan of General Finishes is not why this is my favorite top coat. I would not allow my review of a product to be compromised in that manner. Be advised this satin polyurethane has just a slight bit more sheen than most. With that being said. This is my favorite top coat for numerous reasons. For one. Its forgiving. Water based poly's begin to dry really fast so with most of them if for some reason you brush the stuff on in one spot for to long. You will get this ugly clumping or leave brush marks in the finish. The general finishes stuff dries fast, but is much more forgiving in that manner. It is recommend that you brush the stuff on in a small area then move on, but if for some reason you brush a small area for to long it does not tend to clump up or leave brush marks. Another reason I love this stuff is because it sprays on great with my small compressor and LVLP gun. Many top coats need to be sprayed with a HVLP gun to atomize this stuff properly and get a nice even coat with no runs, but I have an LVLP because I only have a small compressor that only does 5cfm at 40psi. It atomized the stuff properly and I get a nice even coat every time with no runs. My all time favorite thing about this top coat is that I can put 3 or 4 coats of the stuff on in less that a day. This stuff dries hard enough to be lightly sanded in about 1-2 hours depending on the conditions. After about an hour I can go in and hit it with a 220 grit sanding pad to smooth it out and put on another coat. All of the water based or should I say waterborne poly's dry to the touch and can be lightly handled pretty fast, but they will still be to soft to sand. With this poly it is a much different story. Also ones this stuff is dried and cured. It is almost indestructible as far as a polyurethane goes. Even over softwood like pine.

Excellent topcoat! Easy to work with.

Outstanding. Easy to apply, water cleanup, and flawless finish. I put 4 coats on an old butcher block style table after staining ebony (oil base) and made a silk purse of a sow's ear.

A for the product, F for the shipping.

To cut right to the chase: I am extremely pleased with the results I achieved with this product. I am an experienced "hobbyist" woodworker but still get apprehensive with the finishing stage of a project. The GF finish allowed me to achieve my goals: a satin finish on a maple cabinet top with no yellowing or color change. The cabinet top is a glued-up maple panel approximately 55" x 15". I sanded it to 320 with a Bosch random orbit sander prior to applying any finish. I cleaned up the sawdust after sanding and between coats of finish with a tack cloth. I sanded and finished BOTH the top and bottom of the panel. I did not count the number of coats, but three was not enough. I am guessing I stopped at eight coats. For the first half-dozen coats I used the finish straight out of the can, after mixing thoroughly (required to get the satin particles off the bottom of the can, I would say 5 to 7 minutes of stirring with a small paint stick). The last couple coats I thinned the finish quite substantially after pouring the needed amount into a small paint pail. Since the finish in the can is of a milky consistency let me use a milk analogy: think of what's in the can as the consistency of the half-and-half you put in your coffee. My last couple coats were the consistency of skim milk with a little water added. I found that the thinner final coats allowed the brush marks to relax quite a bit more than in the thicker coats. I would recommend thinning for the final coats; if I was doing it over again I would probably use the out-of-the-can consistency only for maybe ther first two or three coats and then start thinning from there. I used a good "traditional" paintbrush, a Purdy Nylox "Dale" model (soft bristle) with a beveledf tip, 2-1/2" wide. GF recommends a foam brush. I can't comment on this as I did not try it, but for sure the brush marks were my biggest issue. This is why I attempted the thinning (successfully, as it turned out) described above. I am not a fan of foam brushes but would have tried one had the thinning not worked. I sanded between coats using successively finer grits. 320 on the first couple coats, then 400, then 600, 800, and finally 1000 automotive paper prior to the last couple coats. As others have observed here, this finish dries completely quite quickly. In my case I left most coats to dry at least 8 hours and by that time the sanding produced a fine white powder with no stickiness at all. This was easily cleaned with a brush-equipped shop vac followed up by a tack cloth. (BTW I did use the cheapie oil-based tack cloths you can pick up at Lowes with no oil-vs-water problems.) I also used this finish an a couple of maple plywood shelves with solid maple edging for the inside of the cabinet. No issues here either and the color is completely natural. I also put a coat of Butcher's wax on these shelves maybe a day after the last coat - worked great after being buffed out with a wool pad on the Bosch random orbit sander. Will probably do this to the top eventually as well. The things I would be most careful to look out for are BRUSH MARKS and DRIPS. I addressed the brush mark issue by thinning the finish. All of my surfaces were flat and horizontal so it was pretty easy to avoid drips. I could see this being a bigger issue for vertical surfaces, so be careful if you have those or any detailed carvings or turnings. Very easy cleanup with warm water and a touch of True-Green cleaner. I stay away from hand soap for these kinds of things as those often contain various oils. I found little or no VOC or odor with this finish, another significant positive for my in-home (basement) workshop. It goes without saying that this finish is relatively expensive compared to the Minwax at one of the box stores. But the bottom line for me, again, I got what I was after which is a nice satin finish with a natural color maple cabinet top. Would definitely use this finish again.

This is a notably good water-based polyurethane finish. I was introduced to this by a neighbor who asked me to spray (HVLP) their new cabinet doors. I was impressed with how well it flowed and leveled out, and as a long-time user of oil-based poly, the other advantages of water-based poly: virtually no smell, remarkably easy to clean, fast dry/sand/recoat. So I got this for myself and have used it to finish trim, shelves, and plywood that we installed on our garage walls. I've applied it by brush, roller, and spray, and all of these work great for their appropriate applications. Compared to water-based polyurethanes from other manufacturers that I've used, this one is clearly superior. It covers better, leaves a nicer finish, has a good flow, and levels exceptionally well. This is more expensive than some others, but I think a better value. It's very easy to work with, builds well, and the finish seems to be more durable than similar products (although I have not subjected it to difficult conditions). And my orders have arrived _well packed_ and quickly.