When you want to finish that home theater project or some other type of show furniture, you probably chose to varnish it. It is one of the hardest finishes to use, but in terms of appearance and wear, it is the best. Varnish can enhance your wood and provide a look that is either natural or glossy and formal. It is resistant to heat, abrasion, impact, and even water and alcohol. Even if your furniture is finished, you can use varnish as a topcoat. The finish is clear, but will leave you with a slightly darker wood than what you started with. Like paint, you have to choose from matte, satin, semi, and high glosses. Choose the varnish that compliments the wood you have chosen.

Traditionally speaking, while varnish is thinned with turpentine or a mineral spirit, it will be based on natural resins and oils. Spar varnish is going to be the most natural, and is made to stay a bit tacky. Do not use this on your furniture. If you choose a synthetic varnish, it will require a special type of thinner because the resins in it are synthetic.

When it comes to a synthetic varnish, polyurethane triumphs over all. These varnishes are clear, tough, and they do not make your wood that yucky yellow color. After all, when your home theater entertainment center finally has all that expensive equipment on it, who wants it to be yellow? Other synthetic types include phenolics, but those are used for work with boats mostly. There are also alkyds, which are used for color treated woods. Both of those types get a little yellow over time, and you should not use them for refinishing your interior furniture. To negate issues with dust in the air, look for a quick drying varnish, but try not to use a spray varnish. These are only useful when you cannot use a brush. Wicker and rattan furniture are good for spray varnish, but little else.

If you want a varnish with a water base, you are probably looking for something simpler to use. Water based varnishes are just easier to clean up, and they are less toxic. The results still shine through, and you can get very similar results with a water base. This varnish will not bubble up, chip, or crack. Water based varnish is still resistant to water once it dries as well as alcohol. As with polyurethane, there is no yellowing. If you apply this in a number of coats, you might get some clouding, but that depends on your wood.

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[tags]furniture, varnish, veneer, paint[/tags]