General FinishesHigh Performance Water Based Topcoat, 1 Quart, Satin

This is truly a nice product. I've used so many different finishes over the years, and this has to be the most forgiving, and easiest to apply. It looks really great, as well. Clean-up is easy. The only thing I might gripe about is it's lack of a soft amber hue. But that's really because I'm so used to using oil-based finishes and shellac. Having something so clear is strange to me, because I'm so used to seeing the wood warm up with the hues oil based finishes and shellac provide. I will be buying this again, though.

Amateur woodworker, have applied a variety of finishes over the years - varnish, shellac, poly’s, oils, etc. Have never written about any of them because, well, they do what you expect. This product however, the GF water-based satin finish “top coat”, is worthy of a few sentences. Applies very easily, just make sure to stir it - not shake it in the can - prior to use as its a milky looking concoction that tends to separate a bit. Plastic spoons work great. Goes on all too easily. Brush, foam, rag, whatever - it levels itself out better than just about anything I can remember using. Dries in an hour for next coats (as desired), which is great. The finish on, say, hard maple with just a couple of coats is sublime. Just gorgeous. A very slight sheen, invisible at some angles, and silky smooth, looks like it came out of a factory. If you need a high gloss shine then of course this isn’t for you. But for certain furniture, gun stocks, items where you want the grain to be the star of the show, this stuff is absolutely perfect. Five stars.

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!

If you are looking for something that's more natural and doesn't darken your item much, this is great! I have Danish Oil in natural on one side and Dead Flat on the other. Just one coat of each to test, but major difference!

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.

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