Topcoats: Water Based

Visit https://generalfinishes.com/ for full product info and detailed step by step prep and application instructions. 

"Removing the previous orange stain finish on these end tables and lightening up with a custom stain mix in a gray tan color really help to give this set an updated look. I removed the old wood knobs and swapped them out for something more modern and then sealing both pieces in General Finishes High Performance Top Coat in flat for durability." - Flipping Unbelievable    
"I found this Vintage Stanley on the curb a few weeks back. It was painted and in horrible need of a makeover!!! We stripped till our fingertips were numb. We cleaned and sanded and stained and finished…. We painted curves and polished brass. We went thru this piece and transformed as MUCH as possible from her old forgotten life into this spectacular piece of ART!!!!! Tricorn Black on details, body stained in Roanoke with General Finishes High Performance top coat in satin. Drawers left...
"I’m glad my client saw potential in this table, because the end result is even better than I thought! It belongs to her husband’s family, and she had the table refinished as a gift to her husband for his birthday. It was a lot of prep work - glueing veneer, patching veneer, stripping the entire piece and removing the old lamp. Then I give it a very light paint wash to blend the different woods and veneers before sealing with General Finishes High Performance Top Coat. It’s not completely...

"The ash dining table top is in its final home. I really like how the black steel base complements the natural ash look. And the breadboard ends really make it a true dining table. The ash came from...

"You never know what you’ll find hidden under a failing finish! This MCM side table was in desperate need of some attention. Some sanding and our trusty General Finishes High Performance Topcoat (in Flat) later and she’s beautiful. Look at that woodgrain shine!" - Furniture Rescue Fairfax       
"From his original pickled finish, to black lacquered spray paint…. And now back to bare bones glory! We’ve got beautiful fresh grain patterning, a sweet complimentary shade difference in the middle (totally it’s natural tones) and we not only added some contrasting black hardware and feet, but also some subtle black pinstripes down the sides of the drawers to tie it all together!!! Finished au-natural in bare naked grains with three luxurious coats of General Finishes High Performance...

"When I saw this charming 1920s dresser, I couldn't wait to transform it into something special. In order to keep the "raw" look I tried out a new topcoat from...

"I stared at this piece for months and this is exactly what I had envisioned. At first I didn’t want to tackle it, painting would have been so much easier! But I am so glad I did because I couldn’t be happier with this transformation. From 90’s orange pine to modern farmhouse this console has been given new life!! The entire piece has been sealed for durability with General Finishes High Performance Topcoat in their NEW Dead Flat finish for that perfect natural wood look!" - Nap Time Furniture...
Owl carving from locust by Michael J. Galovic of Ashville, NC. It has been finished with General Finished NEW Dead Flat High Performance Topcoat. Michael says, "it gave luster to the wood without giving it shine. Any kind of gloss would have distracted from the carving."     
"Halo" Fluted Pedestal Dining Table handcrafted by Casa Dega Design in San Diego, CA.   "The Halo pedestal dining table features a solid White Oak circular top, with a fluted pedestal base. Several coats of General Finishes water-based Conversion Varnish finish are sprayed to add a layer of extra protection."    
"When my friend asked if I could redo this antique family heirloom for her nursery, I was honoured. Using a combination of my 1” & 2.5” Bahco carbide tipped scrapers and my DEWALT CANADA orbit sander (100 grit followed by 150), I carefully removed the original finish. For the curved edges and wooden knobs, my SurfPrep Sanding 3"x4" electric ray sander with the foam pads was perfect. I’ve recently discovered a mop brush (used in watercolour painting) for applying topcoat and it’s amazing for...
Everybody has a story. Everybody has a scar. When she was built she had a destiny. She was intended to be gifted to a young fiancée, on that spectacular wedding day. Sadly that day took a turn for the worse, when the bride-to-be decided she couldn’t go thru with the marriage. Unfortunately we will never know why. What we DO know is that a heartbroken man was so devastated that he tattooed this babe for life, with his smoldering cigar. She’s adorned with the highest quality carved wood....
"My goal as of late has been to create timeless pieces that are going to ebb and flow with our ever changing styles. When I bought this piece I initially thought we might update with a little paint. But I really decided the grain patterning and hardware should just stand alone on its own and just BE everything. So we chemically stripped this babe and clear coated her in three coats of General Finishes High performance satin. Hand rubbed out all those pulls for a glorious neutral wood and brass...
"This slab of black walnut arrived with a little different shape and was very rough texturally. My client wanted a natural finish that would highlight the beautiful black walnut grain. General Finishes Enduro-Var for the win. This product sprayed beautifully and feels luxurious to the touch." - Paint and Hammer      
"Bambooooooy-oh-boy you’re a beast! Holy cow. This vintage American of martinsville faux bamboo is insanely heavy. Heavy white oak trim and contesting natural oak body give this big lug one hefty stance. We decided he had enough going on with his design ascetics and textures- so we just stripped it down and clear coated in a beautiful General Finishes High Performance water based satin finish to avoid any ambering tones. It’s earthy… it’s boho…. It’s neutral…. It’s MCM and have i...
"Holy moly. When my neighbor called and said they had this old small hutch in their garage I was a little less than hopeful. All the details just screamed- I took this from granny’s house! Old Mahogany hutches are a dime a dozen but I figured maybe we could do a fun paint job or something to spruce it up…. But boy was I wrong!!! After removing the trim and decorative pieces, we stripped down bare to find ourselves some African Mahogany- which is one of my favorite woods known for its rich...
"The wood on these cedar chests not only look gorgeous but smell amazing! This piece was covered in a rough texture which I called “alligator finish”. I stripped everything off, and polished up the hardware using Bar Keepers Friend and then sealed the wood with General Finishes High Performance water based Topcoat." - Flipping Unbelievable    
"4’ round curly maple dining table. Spider base legs. Finished in High Performance satin water based topcoat by General Finishes." - A Squared Furnishings    
"This chest of drawers is just so beautiful now, I almost don’t want to let it go! I removed every inch of that dated finish, squared off the bottom, swapped out the hardware, and refinished the wood to reveal this beautiful, light maple. I used General Finishes Flat Out Flat to give it protection without deepening the color." - The Pink Pinecone    
"Something a little different…a Century dresser that has been bleached and weathered, then sealed with General Finishes High Performance Topcoat. All new hardware add just a touch of gold and sophistication to this high end piece." - Just a Touch of Paint 2.0    

"There are few things I love more (furniture-wise) than Vermont solid maple, and this blonde beauty is no exception! This three-drawer dresser was sanded down to natural wood and sealed with General Finishes High Performance topcoat (satin). I removed the clunky bottom piece, sawed off a few inches and added new legs and knobs."

"Lots of experimenting… from wood bleach to white stain to brown stain to Clorox bleach and lots of sanding… finally settled on leaving it as raw wood, sealed with General Finishes High Performance Topcoat."     
"Walnut/Hickory Watch Display Case. It was my first attempt at some truly fine woodworking and I am so happy with the way it turned out! Definitely one of my favorite pieces I have built! Made of Walnut and Hickory wood and finished with General Finishes Enduro-Var II. Lots of hours, LOTS of tedious sanding/finishing, a few minor heart attacks, and a ton of love went into this!" - Cedar Cross Woodworks    
"Slowly but surely I’ve been working on finishing my basement this year, which includes all sorts of custom work including my new bar! This has been one of my favorite projects of all time and I couldn’t be more thrilled with how it turned out. It’s a solid walnut and cherry top, walnut railing and reclaimed oak around the sides. Finished it with General Finishes Conversion Varnish."    
"I knew this wood grain would be back to popping after stripping off that original overly toned and UV faded finish. No stain needed here! Just a couple coats of dewaxed shellac and then finished off with a few coats of General Finishes High Performance Topcoat in Flat." - Blush Vintage       
"This right here is why I love what I do! A piece of furniture that has history is refinished so that it can stay in the family for years to come! This desk was completely stripped and left natural. I used General Finishes High Performance Topcoat in Flat to seal this piece. You don’t find solid wood pieces like this much anymore and if you do, they can be very expensive. Nothing can compare to real wood grain, it’s hard to duplicate and so unique!" - Flipping Unbelievable    

Christmas tree ornaments from Padauk

"Elm & Black epoxy conference table. Dimensions 110"x43”x30”. Epoxy is ‘deep pour’ from Superclear Epoxy, liquid black pigment is also from Super Clear. Finished with Conversion Varnish from General Finishes." - kiwiwoodshop

"Sometimes pieces just speak for themselves. They don’t need anything flowery or fancy to make them exquisite. Literally stripped down and sealed in General Finishes. High Performance Topcoat satin. That’s it!" - Restoration Reserve    
"It went from a dark stain to natural wood. I stripped the old finish off and then sealed it with General Finishes High Performance Topcoat. My client wanted to lighten up her space and I think stripping her table to natural wood was the right choice!" - Flipping Unbelievable    

California King | Mid-Century Style Bed Frame | 84”x72” | Hand Shaped Legs | Solid Curly Maple | Finished with GF High Performance Gloss

"This lovely mid century Beautility sideboard is a great shape but needed some updating and quite a bit of cleaning (!) to make it a stand out piece of modern furniture. So what did we do: Full clean and sand to remove any residual varnish/wax - the inside needed much more work than the outside to get it looking clean and fresh The sliding doors didn't actually come out as they do in other pieces so to make sure I could prep and paint the design properly, I cut them out and then...
How great is this waterfall epoxy table from 14 year old woodworker Brayden Bishop of Bowling Green, KY??!!   "Just wrapped up one of the funnest projects I’ve done to date, this beautiful waterfall epoxy end table for my aunt. It’s made from solid maple and blue resin from Superclear Epoxy and has a steel frame that me and my dad welded together from 3/4 tubing. Finished with General Finishes High Performance Topcoat. All in all I think it turned out great for my first build like this...
"This table top is too good to cover up! Birds eye maple in the middle really gives it a fun design. This table was completely stripped and left natural to show off the pretty wood grains and sealed with General Finishes High Performance Topcoat." - Flipping Unbelievable    
"Sometimes you just have to strip it down to show off the natural beauty! This end table was sprayed with General Finishes High Performance Top Coat in Satin for durability. Let the beautiful wood grain show through." - Flipping Unbelievable   Compare all General Finishes topcoats here: https://generalfinishes.com/compare-all-topcoats
"Unique mid century tall dresser with the most amazing maple burl wood. Top and drawer fronts left natural and sealed with General Finishes High Performance water-based topcoat, sides and dividing pieces in General Finishes Lamp Black Milk Paint."    
"I stripped this one down to bare wood and left it natural, and sealed with General Finishes High Performance Top Coat in Flat".   Learn more about General Finishes line up of water based topcoats in this video: http://bit.ly/GFVideoComparisonWaterBaseTopcoats

A walnut window seat finished with GF Enduro-Var topcoat. 

"Anyone else love how this cedar set turned out? We just completed another custom order for our client. This beautiful set was stripped down to the natural finish and sealed using General Finishes satin Enduro-Var!"   Enduro-Var is oil-modified, water-based polyurethane that looks more like an oil varnish than a water coating. It ambers slightly, is highly water resistant, and is both sprayable and brushable. Learn more in this video:...
"This piece turned out to be a more difficult task than I originally anticipated. But it was worth it in the end! ALL veneer was removed revealing gorgeous wood (Top, sides, drawers and doors)   Left the wood in its natural state and applied several coats of General Finishes High Performance Topcoat in flat. The grain is just stunning!"    Learn more about General Finishes Water Based High Performance Topcoat in this video:...

This petite dresser is solid white oak! I had so many ideas on what to do with her, but after the original finish was removed I fell in love with the beautiful neutral tone of the wood!
.
It has been coated in three coats of ...

"Relief carving based on our client's logo. The artwork is 36x36 x 1.25 solid white oak finished with General Finishes High Performance semi-gloss. The image greets visitors as they enter the office. Our client is a tree specialist; Colonial Tree Service."    Learn more about General Finishes water based High Performance Topcoat in this video: http://bit.ly/GFVideoProductHighPerformanceWaterbasedTopcoat...
"This dresser is the perfect example that simple does not mean plain. Stripped down to a natural finish, showcasing the rich grain and different wood species then sealed with General Finishes High Performance Topcoat for durability."    Learn more about GF High Performance water based topcoat in this video: http://bit.ly/GFVideoProductHighPerformanceWaterbasedTopcoat

"What do I love most about this dresser? It has built in drawer stops to ensure that the drawers don’t slide all the way out, making it perfect for a child’s room. This dresser was painted in General Finishes Reverent Gray with my Fuji Spray Hvlp spray gun for a perfectly smooth finish without brush strokes, ideal for a mid century modern look. The drawers were stripped and then sealed with High Performance Top Coat." 

This whimsical piece was one 2x2x24 inch piece of rosewood - and I wanted to try something different with it!

I used my bandsaw to texture the portion that wasn’t turned. The turned portion received 3 coats of EnduroVar, with a light 600 grit sanding between coats. The third coat was sanded to 12000 grit with MicroMesh before a carnauba wax buff. The contrast is pretty striking. About 9” tall overall, the turned stem is 5”, and the goblet is 4”. Those numbers are reversed for the...

This bowl is made 100% from recycled skateboards, and is finished with General Finishes High Performance Top Coat (gloss)!

Check out this 7ft tall chair done in General Finishes Exterior 450 Cedar Stain and Exterior 450 Satin Topcoat by 

"This gorgeous Pine Printer Style Coffee Table is complete! We went natural and it is stunning! We completely stripped down the original orange stain and finish. Then we went with a General Finishes High Performance Flat Finish and paired it with beautiful bin pulls from D. Lawless Hardware. Just the perfect combination for this modern farmhouse makeover!" - ReFind Design by Coco Clare    

My client contacted me about redo'ing this piece of furniture for his wife as a surprise for her birthday. Her grandfather used this piece as his tool/work bench.  I loved the story and was determined to make it beautiful again, so I gave it a lot of TLC. I ended up stripping the whole thing about 5 times to get years of stain and grime off of it. It was also breaking in areas due to the weight of the heavy tools, so those areas needed fixing. After that, I cleaned and sealed it really well...

I fell in love with this 1950s Beautility brand cocktail sideboard as soon as I saw it and marvelled at the hideaway drinks compartment that cleverly folded out of a seemingly much too small hole! However, even though I loved it on sight and it clearly had good grain going for it, it would only become a lot clearer what a beauty it was once it was fully stripped back using paint/varnish stripper and lots of elbow grease / wire wool too! 

The fronts of the doors are a Walnut Burl...