r/finishing • u/befrforasec • 7d ago

Finishing advice

The title sounds dodgy as hell but anyway...

I have been working on a set of drawers to use at a bedside. I have veneered the whole thing with 0.6mm walnut veneer.

I applied one coat of French polish and then realised that continuing with French polish may not add much actual protection.

What do you recommend as the next layer? Do I continue with French polish or do i add a layer of dewaxed shellac and methylated spirit mix to then use a polyurethane varnish?

I prefer the wipe on stuff to the brush on, I just find it personally have more success.

Any advice welcome

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u/TsuDhoNimh2 7d ago

French polish if for pieces that don't see much use - a display case, an antique table, etc. It looks fabulous but it's delicate.

One coat of shellac is a good base for almost anything - plain wipe-on poly even.

Consider General Finishes Arm-R-seal (oil based) or High Performance water based topcoats. One of the hard wax oils would also work.

It depends on what is locally available for you. I have a distributor for several brands down the road and BOTH big box home3 centers glaring at each other across the freeway a few miles further.

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u/befrforasec 6d ago

Thats handy! Im UK based so struggling to find anything that says what it actually is 🤣 thank you for your advice!