Marc was right...

Thanks for the review!

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

thanks for the review. I use almost all general finished products and they have all equally impressed me. i still have the half used can of Minwax that i bought about 6 months ago from before i tried Arm-R-Seal. you should try the seal-a-cell too. thats a great product. they have a really nice Natural Danish Oil (I love it) their stains are top quality, and their dyes are hard to beat. thanks for the review!

Thanks for the review. I am a fan of wipe on finishes. I will have to try this one.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

I have been using GF products for the last 2 years and have been extremely satisfied with the results. I am only a hobbiest WW, but I like quality results and GF has yet to let me down.

I’ve used it before. It compares to a custom tung oil blend with how it makes the grain stand out. My only problem I had with it is that it would start to polermerize(harden) not long after opening the can. this was 3 years ago and I haven’t used it since. I tried contacting GF but they never got back with me.
The wipe on aspect of it is great, but since then I got my hands on some pure tung oil grown right here in Ms right before Katrina took them out.

-- Joey, Magee, Ms http://woodnwaresms.com

I have been using this product for the past 4 years for a number of different cabinetry/furniture projects and I have been very satisfied with it. I apply it with a foam brush to large surfaces,as I find that a t shirt tends to take too much off.

I am currently building a large entertainment center in my newly finished basement, and today I bought a gallon of the Satin finish!

-- When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt! Henry J. Kaiser

Sounds like a finish I’ll have to keep in mind.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Arm-r-seal is what I used on my coffee table about a dozen years ago. Stands up like iron.

-- ..... art for lifes sake ... danwalters@lumberjocks.com

I had the same experience with Poly’s. I don’t like them much. I use Armor Seal almost exclusively, unless I am using tung oil. I wish I knew how to mix, and apply shellac. I really want to try it one day.

-- Matt, Houston Texas

Matt: the shellac us much easier than you might think. I use the flake form. I stick some flakes in the bottom of a glass jar, just cover them with denatured alcohol, put the lid on the jar, and go to bed. The next morning, I start swirling the jar every time I walk by it, and keep doing that until the flakes are melted. That’s good for a very rough “one pound cut.” I usually begin to add more alcohol, until I get Mack’s three pound-ish cut. There are better ways to do this, but this works great for me. Apply with a foam brush, or French polish. Buff with 4-0 steel wool between coats. Piece of cake!

-- There's no tool like an old tool...

Agreed. I’ll add that the gel variant is used a lot in my shop. There are trade-offs though. The gel isn’t quite as clear and obscures the look slightly. I only notice when holding the gel and thinned versions side by side though. Given that, I use gel when blotching is an issue and thinned stuff when not. Maple, Cherry, and pine see the gel a lot.

-- Jeff, South Carolina

Glad it worked out for you man! If you can believe it, when applied very carefully (and lightly, I might add), the finish actually resembles lacquer. I just finished a small entertainment center and once I brought it into the house, I started to see that the finish looked very similar to many of my lacquered pieces in everyday lighting. That’s a great thing coming from a poly-based product. Thanks for the review and good luck!

marc

-- For free video tutorials and other cool woodworking stuff, check out http://www.TheWoodWhisperer.com

I started using GF Arm-R-Seal a few years ago at the suggestion of the manager at the KC Woodcraft store. I really like using it…almost exclusively now at this point, except when I’m trying to preserve the color of a wood like purpleheart, then I use GF’s waterbased UV protection wipe-on. It’s great too and dries even quicker.

I buy the poly-blend by the gallon, but since I mostly create small projects, I’ll immediately go to the local hardware store and buy 4 new empty quart-size paint cans and transfer it to these cans so I can keep most of it sealed until I use it. I’ll take a Sharpie and mark each can with the content and date purchased.

-- Martin, Kansas