Finish for a hand tool cabinet?

[MountainWood]

What would be the best choice for durability and looks?

I'm thinking 3-4 coats of satin poly. But I certainly can be talked into something else.

What did you use? TIA

[Blacky's Boy]

I used satin poly. But I thinned it down by 50% and wiped it on. Then I sanded between each coat. I think I put on about 5 or 6 coats. It's been since 2008 and that tool cabinet still looks good

[MountainWood]

Thanks Dom!

Initially I was thinking wipe-on, but with so many nooks and crannys, I might break out my HVLP spray gun.

Lacquer won't provide durability IMHO, so that's out.

I've been wondering if there's a water-based poly option. Has anyone had experience spraying it?

I've got semi-gloss oil-based poly, which seems a little too "blingy" for me, so I'm needing to purchase something here soon.

Again, thanks for all the replies.

I'll post some pics of the finished cabinet if it looks good.

[Guest]

I use poly on shop furniture. It's tough and easy to apply. If you have nice wood grain features in your tool cabinet, don't apply multiple coats of satin. It has tiny platelets of silicon (I think it's silicon) that kill the natural sheen of the poly. These mask the surface of the wood. A single coat of satin is not so bad, but multiple coats of satin really kill the beauty of nice wood. To avoid this problem, lay down several coats of gloss poly (it doesn't have the platelets) and finish with one coat of satin. This method should give you a satin finish without obscuring the character of the wood. An alternative is to use gloss entirely and knock down the sheen of the last coat with OOOO steel wool.
Post pics of your tool cabinet.

Hank

[cputnam]

John has posted a number of reports about durability. For a wiping finish Arm-R-Seal wins. For spray Endurovar wins, I think.

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[MountainWood]

Thanks Curt! All good info.

[KSMike]

Arm-R-Seal is the only finish I've ever used on indoor furniture, I love that stuff. I've never tried spraying it but I'm going to try it sometime.

[Scoony]

I have had great success with Minwax Oil modified Water Based Poly. Easy to spray, dries fast. You can finish the cabinet with 3 coats in a day.

[MountainWood]

I've never heard of it but I'm looking into it as we speak.