After lots of testing along with 15+ years experience painting furniture, I’m sharing the best top coats for painted furniture. These top coats are easy to apply, go on crystal clear, and give a durable finish that will last for years.
When I first started painting furniture, I used to dread applying the top coat. It seemed like no matter what I did, something almost always went wrong and my perfectly painted furniture ended up looking like a total mess.
I very quickly learned that not all top coats are created equal. Some top coats cause white paint to yellow or leave a streaky film over dark paint colors. Some don’t give a very durable finish. And some top coats go on crystal clear and protect your paint finish for years.
Since then, I’ve painted dozens of pieces of furniture and I’ve learned a ton about how to protect painted furniture so it continues to look beautiful for years to come. I’ve learned that the topcoat or sealer you choose to use on your painted furniture can affect the final outcome just as much as your choice of paint, if not more.
Over the past few years, I’ve made it my mission to test the most popular furniture top coats on the market to find the ones that are easy to apply and give a beautiful, durable finish.
In this post, I’m sharing everything you need to know to choose the best furniture top coat for your next furniture painting project.
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When does painted furniture need a top coat?
Not all painted furniture needs a top coat, but there are certain times that you really should use a sealer over your painted furniture, especially if you want your furniture finish to keep looking pristine.
Whether or not you need a top coat really comes down to two factors: what type of paint you used and how much use your furniture will get.
Chalk Paint – Furniture painted with chalk paint always needs to be protected by a top coat. Chalk paint has lots of amazing qualities for furniture painting, but it is not a super durable paint and without a separate sealer, it will quickly become stained and scratched.
Latex Paint – Latex paint (the kind you paint walls with) isn’t typically my first choice for painting furniture, but if you already have some on hand, it’s absolutely fine to use. But since latex paint isn’t formulated for painting furniture, protecting the paint with a furniture sealer is a good idea.
High Traffic Surfaces – Any time you are painting a piece of furniture that will be used heavily, it’s best to use a top coat. This includes pieces like tabletops, bookshelves, and dressers that will be touched daily or will often have objects moved around on their surfaces.
Kitchens and Bathrooms – Any time you paint cabinets or other wood furniture to use in a kitchen or bathroom, you should use a top coat. These rooms typically get lots and lots of use, they need to be cleaned frequently, and they tend to have lots of water splashing around. All good reasons to use a sealer to protect your painted surfaces so that they last longer.
If you’re wondering if there’s a difference between a furniture sealer, a clear coat, and a top coat, there really isn’t. They are all just different names for the same thing.
Types of top coats
There are three main types of top coats: water-based, oil-based, and wax.
Oil-based Top Coats give a very durable finish over stained wood, but they aren’t the best for painted furniture. Oil-based finishes amber over time and that will cause your entire piece to look more yellow.
Furniture wax is a popular finish for chalk painted furniture, but it definitely isn’t my top choice. While wax does give a lovely soft shine, it can be really tricky to apply evenly. Wax is generally not as water-resistant or as tough as other sealers and it needs to be reapplied regularly in order to continue to protect the paint underneath.
Water-based Top Coats are generally the easiest to use and give the best results over painted furniture. Water-based finishes go by many different names including polycrylic, water-based polyurethane, top coat, crystal clear coat, and more. These top coats go on smoothly, give a durable finish, are usually low VOC, and can be easily cleaned up using soap and water.
Based on my own experience as well as my research, water-based top coats are by far the best option for painted furniture. All of the top coats recommended in this post are water-based finishes.
The Best Top Coats for Painted Furniture
There are many different brands of water-based furniture sealers out there and over my 15+ years of painting furniture, I have tried most of them. I’ve also done several side-by-side comparisons of different top coats to see how they really hold up.
I’ve found that there are a few top coats that really stand above the rest. (And there are also a few that I absolutely would not recommend.)
When choosing which top coats are the best, these are the qualities I look for:
- Easy to apply. A great top coat should make it easy to get great results.
- Gives a nice smooth finish with minimal brushstrokes.
- No yellowing over white paint.
- No white film or streaks over black paint and other dark colors.
- Gives a very durable finish that resists chips and scratches.
- Protects the paint from water rings and other stains.
- Affordable.
Taking all of these factors into consideration, these are the best top coats for painted furniture. I’ll break down all the pros and cons of each sealer below, but first here’s an overview of my top picks:
The Best Top Coats for Painted Furniture
Best overall: General Finishes High Performance Topcoat
Best for white paint: CrystaLac Extreme Protection Polyurethane
Best for black paint: CrystaLac Extreme Protection Polyurethane
Best matte finish: General Finishes Flat out Flat
Best budget top coat: Varathane Water-based Polyurethane or Minwax Polycrylic (It’s complicated).
I’ve also tried several other water-based top coats that didn’t quite make the cut.
Top Coats I Don’t Recommend
- Beyond Paint Multi-purpose Sealer – This sealer is very watery and is more difficult to apply than other sealers. I’ve found that you can get a beautiful finish with it, but it takes a lot more work. This sealer also doesn’t give the most durable finish and is one of the most expensive options available.
- General Finishes High Performance Topcoat in Dead Flat – While I love most of the General Finishes products I have tried including their High Performance Topcoat in other sheens, the dead flat version is a big disappointment. It does give a very matte finish, but the finish is difficult to apply and tends to look streaky over dark colors. It also shows water spots and is just generally hard to keep looking good.
- Dixie Belle Gator Hide – I’ve found that Gator Hide actually works pretty well. It doesn’t yellow white paint or get streaky over black paint and gives a fairly durable finish. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most expensive sealers per quart, so I prefer to use more affordable options.
Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons of each top coat I recommend:
The Best All Around Furniture Top Coat
General Finishes High Performance Top Coat
Price: $35-$45 per quart. Also available in 16 oz. and gallon sizes. (You may notice a pint costs nearly as much as a quart in many stores. It is definitely worth going for the quart.)
Where to Buy: Available on Amazon and from woodworking stores like WoodCraft and Rockler. You can look for a local retailer here.
Sheens: Gloss, Semi-Gloss, Satin, Flat, Dead Flat.
I have used General Finishes High Performance Top Coat to seal many pieces of painted furniture as well as bathroom cabinets.
I love using this sealer because it is very easy to work with. It applies smoothly with minimal brushstrokes and gives a very durable finish that really lasts. Some top coats can be very unpredictable, but I’ve found General Finishes to be reliable time after time.
General Finishes High Performance Top Coat comes in several sheens and I have used most of them with great results. However, I do have to warn you that the new dead flat finish isn’t my favorite. It is a lot more difficult to apply smoothly and tends to leave a streaky finish, particularly on darker colors.
General Finishes High Performance Top Coat
The Good:
- Very easy to apply.
- Goes on smoothly and leaves minimal brushstrokes.
- Gives a very durable finish.
- Can be brushed or sprayed.
The Bad:
- The dead flat sheen is difficult to apply and can give a streaky finish.
Bathroom vanity sealed with General Finishes High Performance Topcoat:
The Best Top Coat for White Paint & Dark Paint
CrystaLac Extreme Protection Polyurethane
Price: $35 per quart. Also available in 8 oz, 16 oz, and gallon sizes.
Where to Buy: Available from Amazon.
Sheens: Gloss, Semi-Gloss, Satin, Matte
I haven’t used CrystaLac polyurethane much, but I have tested it head-to-head against other sealers a few times now and it always stands out as a clear winner. This sealer is very easy to apply. I have noticed tiny bubbles a few times while applying it but they leveled out on their own and it dried to a very smooth, finish.
One of the best things about this sealer is how crystal clear it dries. This sealer gives a perfectly clear finish; it doesn’t yellow white paint and it doesn’t leave a film over dark colors. The finish is also very durable and protects the paint well from scratches and liquids.
Overall, I’ve been really impressed with how this finish performs and I look forward to using it more on future furniture projects.
CrystaLac Extreme Protection Polyurethane
The Good:
- Goes on smoothly.
- Very durable finish.
- No yellowing over white paint.
- No streaks or graying tint over black paint.
- Can be brushed or sprayed.
- Low VOC.
The Bad:
- Must be ordered online.
Want more details on sealing white furniture? I have a whole post about how I tested these top coats on more on white furniture to see which did best.
The Best Top Coat for a Matte Finish
General Finishes Flat out Flat
Price: $35-$40 per quart. Also available in pint and gallon sizes. (Again, buying a quart is a way better deal than buying a pint.)
Where to Buy: Available on Amazon and from woodworking stores like WoodCraft and Rockler. You can look for a local retailer here.
Sheens: This is a completely matte finish which is ideal for pieces that you want to have a more vintage, aged look.
General Finishes Flat out Flat is my go-to topcoat for sealing painted furniture with more of a vintage feel. It’s a much more durable alternative to furniture wax for sealing chalk paint and it also looks beautiful over more modern finishes.
This top coat is easy to apply and gives a soft matte finish with minimal brushstrokes. While this topcoat does give a pretty durable finish, General Finishes doesn’t recommend using Flat out Flat for high traffic pieces like kitchen cabinets.
I do want to give a word of caution that, in general, flat finishes can be more difficult to apply and are prone to looking streaky, particularly over dark paint colors. I’ve tried several matte topcoats, and I’ve found Flat out Flat to be by far the easiest to work with and the least likely to look uneven. If you struggle with your top coats looking streaky, there are some tips at the end of this post that can really help.
General Finishes Flat out Flat
The Good:
- Easy to apply.
- Goes on smoothly and leaves minimal brushstrokes.
- Gives a completely matte finish.
The Bad:
- Not quite as durable as some other sealers.
Dresser sealed with General Finishes Flat out Flat:
The Best Budget Top Coat: Minwax vs. Varathane
And that brings us to the burning question of which budget top coat works the best: Minwax Polycrylic or Varathane Water-based Polyurethane.
These two top coats are very similar.
- They are both much cheaper than other furniture top coats and cost around $25 per quart.
- They are both widely available in local home improvement stores.
- They are both sold by highly reputable, huge paint product companies.
- They both have lots of fans and plenty of positive reviews.
But is one significantly better than the other?
After using a variety of furniture top coats to seal dozens of pieces of painted furniture, I can definitively say that neither of these top coats is my favorite. Whomp whomp.
I have gotten beautiful results using both Varathane and Minwax water-based top coats, but I’ve gotten some pretty terrible results as well.
After sealing multiple pieces of furniture with both Varathane water-based polyurethane and Minwax polycrylic, I’ve found that they just aren’t as reliable as other top coats. They both tend to be a bit difficult and unpredictable to work with – sometimes they give a beautiful, perfect finish and other times they don’t with no obvious reason why. So I can’t declare a clear winner between the two
But, even so, they are still significantly cheaper and more widely available than other top coats. So if you are looking to save some money on supplies or you really need to grab something at a local store today, either of these top coats will work.
Sidenote: Both Varathane and Minwax are available in a spray can version as well as a brush on version. In my experience, the spray versions are amazing for sealing curved, detailed surfaces like chair rungs but don’t give the best finish on large flat surfaces like tabletops and dresser sides.
Varathane Water-based Ultimate Polyurethane
Price: $25 per quart. Also available in 8 oz. and gallon sizes as well as a spray version.
Where to Buy: Available from Amazon as well as Home Depot, Walmart, and Michaels.
Sheens: Gloss, Semi-Gloss, Satin, Matte
Varathane Water-based Polyurethane is a bit more unpredictable than other furniture top coats. When using this top coat, it is especially important to follow all of the best practices for sealing furniture including stirring it well and not applying it when it is too hot or too cold.
In particular, I’ve noticed that it can look streaky over dark paint colors. It also tends to leave tiny bubbles behind during application that can lead to an uneven finish.
That being said, I’ve also gotten some really beautiful results with this sealer. If you can avoid bubbles, it tends to self-level really well and give a very smooth finish free of brushstrokes. And I’ve found that it gives a very durable finish when fully cured and resists scratching and water rings.
Varathane Water-Based Polyurethane
The Good:
- One of the cheapest options.
- Readily available at local stores including Home Depot.
- Available in spray cans for easy sprayed finishes.
- Very durable finish.
The Bad:
- At times, leaves a streaky finish over dark paint colors.
- Prone to bubbles in finish.
Secretary desk sealed with Varathane water-based polyurethane:
Minwax Polycrylic
Price: $22-25 per quart. Also available in 8 oz. and gallon sizes.
Where to Buy: Available from Amazon as well as Lowes, Ace Hardware, and Walmart.
Sheens: Gloss, Semi-gloss, Satin, Matte, Ultra-Flat
Minwax Polycrylic also isn’t always the easiest to work with. When I was new to painting furniture, I had a lot of difficulty with this sealer. Applying it just a bit too thickly tends to cause white paint to yellow and leaves a milky film over dark paint colors. I’ve also found that if you don’t use a super high quality paint brush, this finish tends to show more brushmarks.
That said, it does give a nice, durable finish when fully cured and resists scratching and stains.
This is a sealer that you absolutely must apply exactly right to get consistently good results. But if you are looking for a good budget sealer or you don’t want to have to pay extra for shipping, this is a good option.
Minwax Polycrylic
The Good:
- One of the cheapest options.
- Easy to find in local stores including Lowes.
- Available in a spray can for easy sprayed finishes.
- Gives a durable finish.
The Bad:
- If applied too thickly, can yellow over white paint or leave a white film over dark colors.
- Tends to leave brushstrokes in finish.
Children’s chairs sealed with Minwax Polycrylic:
How to apply top coat to painted furniture
Once you’ve chosen the perfect top coat, here are some tips for applying it so you get a super smooth, durable finish.
- Stir your top coat well before applying. Never shake it as this can lead to air bubbles in your finish.
- Apply 3-4 very thin coats. Keeping your coats of top coat very thin will help avoid bubbles, yellowing, and a streaky finish.
- You can apply water-based top coats with a paint sprayer if you have one for a truly flawless finish. I have this paint sprayer and love it. It is super easy to use and doesn’t require an air compressor.
- You can also get a really nice, smooth finish using a high quality paintbrush (I like these) or a sponge applicator. This $3 sponge applicator is my favorite because it is super easy to use and really gives a smooth finish.
- Avoid applying top coat outdoors if it is very hot, cold, or humid. Your top coat will have a recommended temperature range listed on the can. (You should also store your top coats in a temperature controlled space rather than an unheated garage or basement).
- Resist the urge to touch up imperfections before your top coat has time to fully dry. Touching it when it is partially dry will just lead to smudges and streaks.
- Once your furniture is finished, handle it with care for the first several weeks. It can take some top coats up to 30 days to fully harden and during this time, your furniture is particularly vulnerable to being scratched or chipped.
Looking for more info? I also have a more detailed step-by-step tutorial for sealing painted furniture.
Those are my picks for the best and worst furniture sealers. What would you add to the list? Do you have a favorite that I need to add to my list of products to try?
Here are a few more furniture painting posts I think you’ll find helpful:
I’d love for you to pin this post on Pinterest!
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