General Finishes Stain and Arm R Seal Poly...

[Neal W]

I am in the process of refinishing my kitchen table.  The original finish was what appeared to be shellac and wasn't particularly durable. It had peeled/chipped away in spots and had generally looked pretty ugly. 

After sanding it all off and down to bare wood, I needed to stain the table to come close to matching the chairs and then put a more durable topcoat on the table. 

I had done some research on the General Finishes brand, and it sounded pretty good from everything I had read.  So I headed down to my local wood craft to pick up a quart.  My previous experiences using poly urethane have been exclusively minwax's products.  I'm far from an expert, so take all of this for what it is worth...

The table was sanded to 220 grit before applying stain and poly.

Stain

The first thing I noticed about the GF stain was the solvent odor didn't knock me on my tail.  It was much more tolerable to work with than the Minwax products I have used in the past which have a far more harsh odor and smell. 

Staining wasn't anything too special.  Brushed it on, let it sit for a while, wiped off the excess.  It wasn't too out of the ordinary from previous experiences.  I didn't use a particularly dark stain, but it got the table close to the color I desired.

Poly

Holy crap what a difference!  And I mean this in a good way.  Minwax has a tendency to bubble very badly, and leave streaks (I typically use a foam brush for application).  The Arm R Seal, was much better.  Minimal brush strokes, minimal bubbles.  Left a pretty smooth finish on the first coat.  Used some 0000 steel wool to sand off any slight imperfections/bubbles, and applied coat two. 

This stuff is a dream to work with.  It goes on much more easily than the minwax products.  It is easier to deal with in between coats. I would not hesitate to recommend it if you are working on something a little nicer to justify the higher price. 

 

[clark_fork]

I recently used Arm R Seal but had a terrible time getting the lid off. Destroyed the can. I have spare cans so not a problem. I am taking the can back to the dealer to see if it was a one time deal.  I am curious if you had any trouble popping the lid? My lid was set so deep that I could not budge it with a wide screwdriver or any flat lever in my shop.

A used wipe-on application to good advantage over a coat of shellac. Shellac seems to tame cherry. I made the change from polymerized Tung oil sealer and varnish. Did you use a sealer before applying Arm R Seal?

I, too, am now a fan of this General Finishes Product. I used their wipe on wax. Easy application but it did not build-up sufficiently on the first coat.

Thanks for posting

 

[Neal W]

I did not have any issues with the lid.  It came off about the same as any other paint can using the paint key I have. 

I did not use shellac or any other sealer under the poly.  (Honestly I've never used shellac or any sealers of any type before).  Just the stain, which I allowed to dry overnight.  And then the poly. 

 

[b.hog]

I really like General Finishes products, too.

  My go to poly is their water based Hi performance. It goes on sweet either sprayed or with a foam brush , dries fast , and no odor.