Durable topcoat for shellac/lacquer

[Damion Bevacqua]

Hi everyone,

I have a large conference table that is going to be repurposed as our kitchen table.

I made the table a few years ago, it's a fairly large (and very heavy) side grain red oak table that was dyed and then finished with multiple coats of shellac and then (if I remember correctly) a clear lacquer. It has a really nice, deep finish that I love, but it is somewhat fragile. Maybe fragile isn't the right word - it's just not as durable as say, a poly-finished table would be.

As a conference table in my law office, it was fine (although we did have an issue with a pizza box during one relatively late night), but as a dinner table I'm concerned that I'm going to have issues.

So I'm looking for suggestions on protecting this thing. Is there something that I could use as a topcoat to make it more durable?

Or am I just being overly paranoid?

[Jim Becker]

If you want to put another finish on top to change the durability, thoroughly cleaning it and lightly abrading it will prepare the surface for whatever you choose to apply on top. A wipe on varnish/"poly" will be easiest and since there's already a finish built up on there, 6-8 applications will likely do the job. If you have spraying capability, there is a variety of products you can apply after the same preparation steps from companies like General Finishes and Target Coatings.

[Tim McCarthy]

I use shellac as a base finish for almost everything I build and I recently found a great new (to me) top coat. The Varithane Water Based Polyurethane is awesome in my book. It self levels, dries fast, sands very nicely and seems to be quite durable. It's available in three sheens at Home Depot. I was old school oil based everything for decades and I am amazed at the advances that have been made in water based materials! I don't think you are being paranoid; the kitchen/dining area is not a friendly place for wood finishes!