Furniture varnish - scratch-resistant finish for daily wear
Lacquered furniture and scratches in the first month. That's floor varnish on chairs and bedside tables.
Floor varnish is hard and rigid - great for floors, cracks on furniture at the natural micro-movement of wood. Furniture needs a film with moderate flexibility and contact abrasion resistance, not foot-traffic resistance.
What matters for lacquered furniture:
- Pencil hardness - 2H-4H is right for furniture. Floor varnish gives 5H-6H - too rigid.
- Solvent resistance - kitchen tables get wiped with detergent. The varnish can't go sticky.
- Finish - matte, satin or gloss, uniform, no bubbles or brush marks.
On MDF or chipboard furniture (most common in Chisinau flats) - water-based acrylic varnish with fast drying. Two coats, 320-grit sanding between. On solid wood - two-component polyurethane if you want an industrial-grade finish. Tikkurila (Helmi) and Caparol both have dedicated furniture ranges.
One thing people miss: prime MDF before varnishing. Without primer, edges absorb varnish unevenly and stay visibly darker.
Polyurethane or acrylic with chemical resistance - holds up to water, oil and detergent. Two coats minimum. On solid wood, press with a damp finger: if it leaves a mark, add another coat.
Depends on the existing finish. If it's still bonded and uncracked - sand at 180, degrease, apply new coat. If it's flaking or built up thick - strip fully, otherwise the new varnish won't bond evenly.
Satin is the most practical: hides fingerprints better than gloss, and wipes cleaner than matte which traps dust. For furniture with heavy daily use - satin.
Usually too thick a single coat or temperature below 15 degrees C. Bubbles form when solvent can't escape evenly. Sand it down, apply thin coats with proper drying time between them.
Yes. MDF absorbs unevenly, especially at edges. Without primer, varnish dries darker on the ends. One coat of diluted acrylic primer sorts it.
