Characteristics summary.  Remember, pick the characteristics you want and live with the rest of what you get.

Product   Application     Curing     Odor     Protection    Repairability

Oil               Cloth             Slow       Some         Low 1           Moderate

Oil-varnish   Cloth             Slow        Some       Some 3          Moderate

Varnish       Cloth, brush   Slow        Some        High 9           Low

Wax           Cloth              Fast         Low         Low 0            Moderate

Shellac      Cloth, brush,    Fast         Some       Moderate 6     High

                or Spray

Lacquer       Brush, spray  Fast         High   Moderately high 8  High

Waterborne Brush, spray  Fast         Low    Moderately high 8  Moderate

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stain          Cloth, brush,  Fast to    Moderate*      n/a            n/a
                 or spray*         slow*

Glaze        Cloth, brush     Slow        Low                0              n/a

Toner            Spray          Fast*   Some to
                                                 high*              5-8 *         moderate

* depending upon medium

Thanks! 

 

I like the repairability considerations.

Great idea . Had never thought of a chart to compare simple characteristics of finish.

I know this is a bad word but Keith what about Poly?

Poly is just a type of varnish.

 

On another forum last week, someone posted these gems 

 

• there is no non-poly varnish. varnish is made of poly, mineral spirits and a type of oil, usually linseed
• I also said she could use a tung or hemp oil. mix it with mineral spirits and poly, and you have your own varnish!
• as for watching you tube videos, there are plenty of people doing things incorrectly. kind of like on here where people post erroneous comments. (ummm, see above)

When I called her on it...

• Perhaps my statement was a little generalized. although,At its core, polyurethane is a petrochemical resin that contains isocyanates.so technically i'm not too far off.*

• Unfortunately, polyurethane is less flexible than varnish, so it may not be the best choice to use on wood pieces that move or flex.

  Which is what I mentioned in my comment. you don't have to worry about the poly cracking so there is no need to spend money on a varnish.  [umm I thought you said there were no non-poly varnishes.]

*not exactly -- Isocyanates are compounds containing the isocyanate group (-NCO). They react with compounds containing alcohol (hydroxyl) groups to produce polyurethane polymers, which are components of polyurethane foams, thermoplastic elastomers, spandex fibers, and polyurethane paints.

 

 

Threads like that a fairly common in the circles I travel, and folks don't like being corrected. Oh well....

Fred, when I see posts like Keith cited, my eyes begin to glaze over and I think "Uh, right...I guess". Esoteric arguments about the chemical make ups of ANYTHING just go right over my head. All I want to know is will it work? If the sausage tastes good, who cares how it's made?

Water based poly (today's standard) is much different than the oil based version that he mentions above.

I understand Varnish is more flexible but rarely do I use finish for uncontrolled humidity and temp.

That said which one is more resistant to most household chemicals?