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How to seal my stained farmhouse table??? HELP

Okay, I looked through this forum and couldn't find the exact answer for my situation, so here it is....

My hubby and I built the Farmhouse table and reached the desired stain color I wanted. NOW WHAT??? I know that I obviously have to seal it, but I need advice on the best way to go about it. I have 3 young children, so I am looking for the best way to protect my dining table from spills. I don't want it to be extra shiny either, the duller the bettter (nice word, huh? DULLER)

My hubby's father said Briwax, but others have told us polyurethane. PLEASE HELP!!!

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Finishing Support and Advice

claydowling

Tue, 06/07/2011 - 21:19

I've had great luck with urethane sealers. My favorite are the water-bourne urethanes. The resin they use is acrylic, which is very clear and very hard (Plexiglas is a form of acrylic). It doesn't impart any color to your finish and the pieces I've used it on have held up well over the last decade.

The easiest water based poly-urethane to find is the Minwax product that comes in a blue can. But any water-based polyurethane should have the same properties. It will have a slight sheen when it first cures, but I'm pretty sure that with kids that sheen problem will be solved quickly.

There's a new book out, Wood Finishing 101, by Bob Flexner, that is supposed to cover this sort of thing pretty well. I just ordered mine today. If it turns out to be useful I'll post a link on this forum.

claydowling

Tue, 06/07/2011 - 21:32

There's a flood of information that's not well sorted out there. That's why I ordered the book I mentioned: it's supposed to straighten it out.