I loved working with this stuff especially after struggling with the sticky mess Minwax gel stain made! I sanded lightly and applied it with a sock over a rubber glove in long even strokes. Let it dry as is-it will dry hard in less than a day. Put on extra coats if you want a darker look. The wood grain shines through beautifully, and the General Finishes Gel Urethane Top Coat gives it a golden durable varnished glow. A friend bought some too, but we discovered that the stain looks a little different on different kinds of hardwood. Experiment on the back of a cabinet door to get the color you want. I used straight Brown Mahogany, but her cabinets look like they'll need a mix of that and the Mocha to get the same dark reddish color. Thank you, Rockler!

After a lot of research and some pro advice, I attempted to finish an oak banister that had been stained with Varathane Dark Walnut. After 3 days of cure time, I did two separate test areas on the inside of the railing. It went on just fine. I moved to the outside of the railing and it stripped a huge swath of stain right off the wood. I followed the directions to the letter and didn't apply too much pressure. If you use Varathane stains, stay away from this stuff.

If you need an insanely durable water based finish, this is the product for you. I have to disagree with the other reviewers who say that spraying it is at all "fun," however. While it does level incredibly well, using a 3-stage HVLP Fuji rig, I find that this coating atomizes very poorly compared to pretty much everything else I've ever run through the gun. Its globules are always quite large, so dialing back the fluid needle to mist it well tends to leave tiny spots that don't get any coating and end up looking like fisheyes when it dries. Thinning it out at all just leads to serious running problems. It's also extremely sensitive to surface contaminants of any kind, and just wiping your piece with a paper towel can lead to streaks that reject the coating entirely. A 4-stage turbine might be the ultimate answer for me, but...

Read all reviews for General Finishes Enduro-Var Water-Based Urethane

I just finished building custom cabinets and counter tops for our kitchen, the General Finish Seal-A-Cell, and Arm-R-Seal, were the finish products we used. The results were fantastic! I would recommend both of these finihes if you want to highlight the natural beauty of the wood and have a durable finish.