Asked on Oct 05, 2016

How to seal a plank board for a shelf?

Cweber
by Cweber
I need to seal an old piece of wood that I'm using for a shelf in a kitchen. It's very rustic. i've sanded it some, but it still has some splintering on edges. This won't hurt anything, I'm mainly wanting to make it easier for dusting.
  7 answers
  • Johnchip Johnchip on Oct 05, 2016
    I would apply a few coats of varathane, a marine varnish. It will seal, waterproof, make almost a clear plastic coated like finish (think boat hull) lasts forever.
  • William William on Oct 05, 2016
    Three coats of water based polyurethane would work. Lightly sand in between coats. Water based poly won't yellow over time like oil based poly.
  • Stephanie corley Stephanie corley on Oct 05, 2016
    You may also want to check the Valspar paints. I used the canned clear coat on everything. An antique dealer told me about this.
    • William William on Oct 05, 2016
      Valspar is good too! Used it for years, until I got some free samples from Minwax and fell in love.
  • Ruidoso Ruidoso on Oct 05, 2016
    These are all great suggestions. I have even used various shades of Old English on rough shelves. Just repeat applications smooths out the rough spots. If you do any of these ideas, you will be so happy when you have to dust them/-)
  • Paul Paul on Oct 06, 2016
    You could go all natural. Pioneer Wood Patina has a Natural Beeswax Paste which is made from all food grade products. WWW.PIONEER-WOOD.COM
  • Tova Pearl Tova Pearl on Dec 13, 2016

    I've used two coats of the clear water based poly that someone suggested above. It's been about three years and holding up well, though it's not in the kitchen: if your shelf is gonna get a lot of steam hitting it then i would put on a few more coats.

  • R4m54283590 R4m54283590 on Oct 29, 2021

    Journeyman Painter 35yrs.

    Start out with a good coat of Shellac, either blonde or clear or Amber. it comes from Zinsser and get the Yellow can....