General Finishes Enduro-VAR Water Based Urethane Topcoat, 1 Quart, Satin

My scenario: refinishing white, laminate-covered, particle board kitchen cabinets. Because the laminate was coming loose, I peeled it all off the front of the cupboards. This left three different types of surfaces to refinish--the particle board fronts, the laminate backs, and the wood trim around the top of the cabinets. I used General Finishes Java Gel Stain which is totally awesome and easy to use. It performed beautifully on all three surfaces. The Enduro-Var finish also did well on the laminate and the wood trim. The particle board was a different story. On some of the doors the result was a smooth finish. On others, the finish bubbled and streaked. Sanding did not help. On the last six doors I decided to prime the doors with Kilz before staining them. This made a HUGE difference. So, in short, if you need to refinished particle board, put on a layer of Kilz primer before staining.Other tips: use a lint-free piece of cloth or sock to apply the stain. I wore a rubber glove with an old sock over it for staining and a foam brush for applying the finish. No need to sand or steel wool in between coats. I applied 4 coats of stain and 3 coats of finish, but it goes very quickly. An ideal setting would be a big, empty garage or warehouse with saw horses and boards set up onto which to place the cupboard doors. Then you could go right down the line and do all the doors at once. I did the backs first from start to finish and allowed the Enduro-var to cure before flipping the doors over to do the fronts. This worked pretty well. Need good ventilation.

Excellent water-borne polyurethane. I use a foam brush for application. It does not foam like other water-borne poly's, and it flows out well in spite of the semi-gel consistency out of the can. Most importantly to me, it approaches the warm ambers that oil-based varnish produce, and does not give wood the blue/green cast that other water-borne finishes do. Since it is rated indoor-only, I can't use it for objects in direct sunlight, but it is still more durable with light exposure than others I have used. I use a de-waxed shellac sealer that I tint with alcohol soluble dye as a base coat, and I tint the Enduro-var with water soluble dye, both steps to enhance the varnish-like appearance. Both my use of shellac and adding dye to the Enduro-var are not recommended by General Finishes, but I've had success with it.

Since moving my cabinet company from a 3000sq/ft shop into my garage (for the time being) I have not been able to spray my finishes. With this in mind I needed brush on solutions that offered a similar hardness and quality straight from the can. Being a production shop I also needed simplicity, ease of sanding, and quick drying. This product did not disappoint - it was easy to apply (I used a 2" foam brush), and very easy to knock down between coats. The final results looked excellent and the finish was clear with very little distortion. My only complaint, albeit small is that the finish builds slowly and requires 3-4 coats if you want to fill pores.

I used this product on several walnut projects. It looked very nice. I ended up with a very even finish. It sprayed with the easy of a shellac. It dried almost as quick too. I bought another gallon to have on hand for future project. It was nice! Oh bought the amber effect was not quite as good as an oil base but still looked good.

The only down side is that I should have put it through a filter first, but that is my fault for not following the instructions. I has been on the heavily used kitchen table for a couple of months and looks great. It's a pine table so it is going to dent, etc.but it seems to be ok with the small dents so far (not cracking or chipping). I previously used the water based high performance from general finishes on the same table. Lasted about 6-7 years. Not bad considering the wear and tear on a soft wood table (3 young boys use it for eating, homework, crafts, games, etc). Hoping this might get me another a little longer than the first time before I have to refinish it.

Very happy with this product. Three coats went on with an orange peel texture but came out smooth and beautiful. I did have to Duluth with distilled water and I used hardner.

Started with 1 large piece of unfinished, reclaimed chestnut. Finished with two end tables. Love how they came out. Used 3 coats, dried super fast between coats on a 70 degree day.

Great product. Easy to apply and very pleased with end result