Seal a Cell - General Finishes Question

[Chris Tsutsui]

I just completed my solid maple table and I coated it with one coat of seal a cell following the directions.

I used an orbital sander with 150 grit on most of the parts, and touched up some areas by hand sanding with 220 before applying the seal a cell. I guess I'm looking for a matte finish because this table is a hallway (near the entry) table that might see occasional abuse from people putting things on it. If I make it glossy I'm sure all the dings and scratches will be easier to see...

Anyways I applied one even coat of seal a cell and it darkened the maple and made the grain pop which is great.

Though I'm wondering if I'm supposed to use a top coat to protect it more because I want this table to last.

Will one coat of seal a cell be enough? Or do I need to follow up with a top coat of lacquer, shellac, or poly... etc.

Am I supposed to burnish the table with 0000 fine steel wool after the first coat of seal a cell dries over night?

Should I apply more than one coat of the seal a cell, or should I just go directly to the top coat? Or do I even need a top coat?

I'm sort of a finishing noob...

I promise I'll post pictures when I'm done.

[Rob Price]

I don't know a thing about Seal a Cell. As far as finish, poly is a very durable finish, more so than lacquer or shellac. You can go satin out of the can, I always worry about the flattening agent obscuring the grain, although I've read it doesn't. It just seems like it has to- it certainly clouds up the finish in the can. They add a particulate (silica I think) that creates a microscopically rough finish that scatters instead of reflects light.

What I do is use glossy poly where I want durability (I use lacquer/shellac/oil for looks if the piece won't be abused- but that's all personal choice) and then rub out the final coat with steel wool until I get the sheen I want. The glossy helps me to see any imperfections in the finish while I'm working on it. You can really control the gloss with 0000 steel wool to cut it down as much as you want. You can use several things to rub out the gloss, I like steel wool because it seems to cut through the finish less- I've tried other things (600 grit sand paper) but end up accidentally cutting through the top layer occasionally. If you sand between coats with 400 grit, and then finish with 0000 steel wool, you end up with a very nice, smooth, slick finish.

I'm no finishing expert, I'm just starting to get finishes that I'm happy with, but the best thing I did was buy the book on finishing by Bob Flexner. He helps to explain the finish at a chemical/structural level and it helps to understand what you're doing and why you're doing it. Every time I try a new finish I go back and read parts of the book.

[Mike Cutler]

Chris

The Seal-A-Cell is a grain sealer. General Finishes intends for it it to be used to seal the grain structure prior to applying their top coats, such as Arm-R-Seal.

You will need more layers of protection. One layer of Seal-A-Cell, even though it was a flood coat, wouldn't be enough. I've had really good luck with the general finishes products. I'd go 1 coat of Seal-A-Cell,and 2 coats of Arm-R-Seal, if you like the appearance.

According to Flexner. The General Finishes products are classified as "wiping varnishes"

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I just did a Jewitt "inspired" Mission finsh job, and his recipe called for dye, Seal-a-cell, gel stain, then the final finish. The Seal-a-cell in that instance is to keep the dye from being darkened by the gel stain that is intended to fill grain. I didn't have any Seal-a-cell on hand, so I used a cut shelac. As the other guys have said, the sealers purpose is not as the final finish, rather a compatable foundation for the next finish.

[Todd Bin]

Here is the formula for this finish.

Flood surface with seal a cell.
Wipe off after a few minutes and let dry
rub with 0000 steel wool
blow off or wipe off dust

Wipe on General finishes Arm-R-Seal -- Gloss
wipe off after a few minutes
rub with 0000 steel wool
blow off or wipe off dust

Repeat the Arm-R-Seal step a few times util you are happy

Finally-- Rub with 0000 steel wool and paste wax if you want to bring the finish down to a nice satin look. This finish looks and feels great.

The wood whisperer did a DVD on this a while back. you might try and find that one.

~Todd

[Prashun Patel]

Having never used either, I'll defer to the others.
However, having read a lot about both, here's what I can offer:

Seal A Cell looks like a THINNED wiping varnish. But it does have about 25% resin content. I bet you CAN use it as a top coat; you'd just need more coats than the ArmRSeal which has a higher resin content.

[Chris Tsutsui]

Thanks for the help everyone. Money's been tight lately so I had to make ends with what I had.

I checked my chemicals and found that I had water based polyurethane satin finish.

I used 3 layers of this poly on top of the double layer of seal a cell.

Results were great, I buffed the top with some 0000 steel wool and got the matte satin look I was hoping for. I will host pictures of the finished product on the "projects" forum later though keep in mind it's just a simple solid hard maple table with recess "reveal", arc'd aprons, and tapered legs.

With my left over maple I made 3 small end grain butcher blocks to give to friends and family. I finished these with a generous coating of "The Good Stuff" by the maple butcher block co. I highly recommend "the good stuff" to anyone wanting the easiest possible "all in one" solution for sealing and protecting maple.