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

I am applying this after using General Finishes stain and it looks beautiful. It is very easy to apply and dries extremely fast. The best.

I put two coats of this on a butcher block slab I cut and stained to create a standing desktop. This was my first time using poly at all, and first time staining anything in like 35 years too. Regardless it came out great!This was done almost a year ago now and my desktop still looks fantastic, no visible wear or issues of any kind. I used a brush to apply, it went down smooth and leveled well. I see no leftover brush marks in my work. For an amateur like me to get this kind of result, it has to be a good product!Now if only my stain of another brand had gone on as well, I’d be even happier. Ah well, it’s done now!

I had a paint job that was properly prepped , cleaned, scuff sanded and the correct types of paint and still the new paint was chipping off. The only other option would have been to sand down to raw wood, and that was not an viable option. I bought this to try as a top coat. It is very good. Went on smoothly and evenly and dried to a nice hard finish. It's not magic though, my surface has still chipped a bit, but under the circumstances it is holding up remarkably well. Better than expected. On a properly painted surface it would be amazing.

Very happy with the final result using this to finish a solid cherry quilt storage and display case that doubles as a bench. Had to be a bit careful when applying so that I didn't leave any drips or buildup but the result was perfect. Loved the cleanup with only water. The first coat raised the grain slightly but light sanding was all that was needed for the final two coats. Will totally use this product again for future woodworking needs.

This has to be the best top coat I've worked with. I love wood but hate that as soon as you get the stain color just the way you like it, the top coat ruins the color. Not this top coat! There was minimal color change and it leveled out beautifully. I was tempted to go back over a few places that appeared I applied it unevenly. However, I followed the directions and left it alone. It leveled out perfectly! It's a bit pricier then other brands, but for good reason. The results are beautiful! I'm very happy with the finished look!

easy to use. Dries clear, with minimal streaking. Little pricey compared to other brands of water based clear coat

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.