Walnut Plywood Finishing Advice Needed

Hello all,
I am looking for advice/help and maybe it was already given, but a simplified explanation would be appreciated.

I am making a simple entertainment center (read coffee table with shelves) out of walnut veneer plywood. I was looking for a simple way to keep the beautiful dark color, have it look nice and be protected(i have a 2yr old, i'm sure there will be spills. People talking about 9+coats with mixing different dyes for 3 of the coats, is a bit beyond my current level (first time making something). I was hoping for a more simple process. This was the best help i have found after quite a bit of looking and was hoping if you guys could help me nail this down. My rough interpretation of a simplified method was to use Shellac and then seal it (this was recommended to me: oil based ARM-R-SEAL urethane topcoat) and there is quite a bit of shellac options, so if someone could point me in the right direction for that as well it would be much appreciated.

Thanks

I moved this question to its own thread rather than it being at the end of one from 2010

Jim
Forum Moderator
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Unlike many other species, Walnut get's lighter over time, ending up as a golden brown. Oiling and then finishing will give you a robust color initially, but over time...it's going to get lighter. It's the nature of walnut. I personally oil, put on a barrier coat of de-waxed shellac and finish with a sprayed water borne top coat as I don't normally use oil-based varnishes, but the Arm-R-Seal is a very nice product if you want to brush or wipe your final finishing coats.

Kent-
IMHO the simplest solution is a Waterlox base with Arm R Seal top coats. I have used this finish process on Walnut ply and solid wood in several restaurant applications with significant success. It brings out the grain, provides protection, looks great, does not require any specialized application equipment and is relatively easy/fool proof.

Feel free to contact me if you want/need any further info- Bill