Hi all, recently I varnished my bar top with Behlen Rockhard Tabletop
Varnish. The advice I received from the place I bought the products
from was to use this on the top and General Finish Arm-R-Seal Urethane
Semi-Gloss Topcoat on the front and sides. Although it looked OK on a
couple of pieces of scrap, I didn't care for the contrast of sheens on
the bar itself. I put three coats of the varnish on the top, and I
stopped after putting two coats of urethane on the front and sides,
seeing that it wasn't going to give me the loop I wanted.
My question is, is there any gotchas with topping the urethane with a
couple of coats of the varnish to get a more even look?
ms5150 wrote:
> My question is, is there any gotchas with topping the urethane with a
> couple of coats of the varnish to get a more even look?
Should work; just sand lightly between coats. You could also try
rubbing one or both surfaces with 0000-grade steel wool, ultra-fine
wet-dry sandpaper, or auto rubbing compound to even out the sheens -
practice on scrap first, of course.
Good luck,
Andy
Thanks Andy. I'll try this on a scrap piece with some 0000 steel wool
to see if it adheres OK. Hope that works.
Andy wrote:
> ms5150 wrote:
> > My question is, is there any gotchas with topping the urethane with a
> > couple of coats of the varnish to get a more even look?
>
> Should work; just sand lightly between coats. You could also try
> rubbing one or both surfaces with 0000-grade steel wool, ultra-fine
> wet-dry sandpaper, or auto rubbing compound to even out the sheens -
> practice on scrap first, of course.
> Good luck,
> Andy
I hear that shellac won't hold up to alcohol being spilled on it, which
I'm sure will happen sooner or later, so finishing with shellac doesn't
sound like an option.
Is the other alternative you're suggesting say to shellac over the
urethane, and then put varnish over the shellac?
>
> Polyurethane doesn't bond well to other finishes, so you
> might have adherence problems. I would suggest
> a coat or two of shellac, either as a replacement for the varnish, or
> as an undercoat (shellac bonds to most any finish).
>
> -- Andy Barss
ms5150 <[email protected]> wrote:
: Hi all, recently I varnished my bar top with Behlen Rockhard Tabletop
: Varnish. The advice I received from the place I bought the products
: from was to use this on the top and General Finish Arm-R-Seal Urethane
: Semi-Gloss Topcoat on the front and sides. Although it looked OK on a
: couple of pieces of scrap, I didn't care for the contrast of sheens on
: the bar itself. I put three coats of the varnish on the top, and I
: stopped after putting two coats of urethane on the front and sides,
: seeing that it wasn't going to give me the loop I wanted.
: My question is, is there any gotchas with topping the urethane with a
: couple of coats of the varnish to get a more even look?
Polyurethane doesn't bond well to other finishes, so you
might have adherence problems. I would suggest
a coat or two of shellac, either as a replacement for the varnish, or
as an undercoat (shellac bonds to most any finish).
-- Andy Barss