Help with woodcare Understanding finishes

Varnish or lacquer for wood?

Varnishes and lacquers are one family — finishes that form a hard film over the wood — and the right choice depends on the surface more than on the word. Mylac is the water-based, single-pack floor lacquer, in three sheens; Mylac Extra, two-pack with a hardener, takes over for the heaviest traffic; Quick Dry Varnish Kitchen and Bathroom is the brushing varnish for interior wood in wet rooms; Melamine Lacquer Gloss, the hard lacquer for turned pieces. All go on in 2 to 3 coats, 3 to 4 hours apart, in a cool, dry room, for light use after 24 hours and full hardness in 7 days.

Page updated September 2026 · by the Mylands France woodcare specialists

One family

A film over the wood, and three sheens

An oil goes into the wood; a varnish or a lacquer stays on top and forms a continuous, clear, hard film. It is the finish that protects best against liquids, knocks and household chemicals — the finish for floors, kitchens and joinery. In exchange, the touch is no longer that of bare wood, and a deep scratch is dealt with by rubbing down and recoating rather than locally.

Varnish or lacquer? In practice, the lacquer is the product of the floor and the professional — Mylac, optimised for spraying, also goes on with a synthetic brush — and the varnish is the product of the brush, Quick Dry Varnish Kitchen and Bathroom. The chemistry is shared: water-based, polyurethane or alkyd, non-yellowing, high clarity, and three sheens from dead matt to high gloss.

The preparation rule does not change from one product to the next: a perfectly smooth surface, sanded to 220 grit, the pores of oak and walnut filled with Cellulose Sanding Sealer if you want a glass-smooth surface. The detail is in the preparation guide.

Floor · Mylac Matt Kitchen · Quick Dry Varnish Kitchen and Bathroom Satin Turning · Melamine Lacquer Gloss

Five products

Five films, five surfaces

1. Mylac, the floor lacquer

A sitting-room oak floor varnished with Mylac Matt: a single-pack, water-based, 100 % polyurethane lacquer, fast drying, slip resistant to BS 7044. Interior hardwood or softwood floors, home or commercial, in Matt, Satin or Gloss. Two to three coats 3 to 4 hours apart, de-nibbed with 220; the Matt is not meant for sports floors.

Sitting room · Mylac Matt Hall · Mylac Satin

2. Mylac Extra, for the roughest traffic

The floor of a shop or a school corridor, varnished with Mylac Extra Matt: a two-pack lacquer, catalysed 10:1 with its hardener, a pot life of two hours, the greatest resistance to wear and spilt liquids. A 4.5 litre tin and a 500 ml hardener, in Matt or Satin Matt. The same BS 7044 slip resistance, the same 3 to 4 hours between coats.

Shop · Mylac Extra Matt

3. Quick Dry Varnish, the varnish for wet rooms

Tongue-and-groove panelling behind a bath, varnished with Quick Dry Varnish Kitchen and Bathroom Satin and a synthetic brush: a clear, water-based alkyd varnish for interior wood in kitchens and bathrooms — shelves, cabinet fronts, vanity tops, bath panels. In Matt, Satin or Gloss; 3 to 4 hours between coats, without over-brushing.

Bathroom · Quick Dry Varnish Kitchen and Bathroom Satin

4. Melamine Lacquer Gloss, the lacquer of the lathe

An ash bowl still on the lathe, lacquered with Melamine Lacquer Gloss over a coat of Cellulose Sanding Sealer: a hard semi-gloss, heat and water resistant, the turner's classic. Thinned and cleaned with Cellulose Thinners; brought up with Burnishing Cream to lift the gloss. See Finishing turned wood.

Turned bowl · Melamine Lacquer Gloss Base · Cellulose Sanding Sealer

5. Shellac Barrier Seal, under Mylac on an old floor

An old pine floor freshly re-sanded, sealed with Shellac Barrier Seal for Floors before Mylac Satin: a quick-drying shellac primer that blocks old wax or oil contamination and gives depth to the water-based film. On new floors as on old; also a sealer coat under wax, for a low-traffic floor.

Old floor · Shellac Barrier Seal for Floors Finish · Mylac Satin

Compare

Five products, one table

Product	Where	Sheens	Coats, drying, hardness
Mylac, 1 L	Interior floors, hardwood or softwood, home and commercial	Matt, Satin, Gloss	2 to 3 coats, 3 to 4 hours apart; light use 24 hours, full hardness 7 days
Mylac Extra, 4.5 L + 500 ml hardener	Floors in the heaviest traffic: shops, offices, restaurants, public buildings	Matt, Satin Matt	Two-pack 10:1, two-hour pot life; same times, maximum wear
Quick Dry Varnish Kitchen and Bathroom, 1 L	Interior wood in kitchens and bathrooms, by brush	Matt, Satin, Gloss	2 to 3 coats, 3 to 4 hours, de-nib with 220; 7 days to full hardness
Melamine Lacquer Gloss, 500 ml	Wood turning, small objects	Semi-gloss	Over Cellulose Sanding Sealer; heat and water resistant
Shellac Barrier Seal for Floors, 1 L	Under Mylac, on a new floor or a re-sanded old one	Primer, not a finish	Quick drying; blocks old wax and oil, adds depth

The full method on a floor: How to varnish a wooden floor with Mylac. Choosing the sheen: Matt, satin or gloss on wood.

The atmosphere

The white bloom, and the cool, dry room

The most common fault in a varnish or a lacquer is not in the tin: it is the white bloom, the milky clouding that appears in the film when it dries in damp air. The rule is simple and holds for every product in the family: work in a cool, dry atmosphere. In a bathroom, that means the window open and no shower the night before; on a floor, no varnishing on a stormy day.

The rest of the care is about dust. Each coat is de-nibbed with stearated paper, 220 grit at most, to take off the specks that settled on the film; the room is vacuumed before the next coat. Three to four hours are enough between coats, long enough for the previous one to be touch-dry — but the film is only truly hard after 7 days: light use after 24 hours, rugs and heavy furniture after a week.

To avoid

What spoils a film

Varnishing in a damp room. The film goes white as it dries. Cool, dry room, or leave it until tomorrow.
Skipping the de-nib between coats. Every speck of dust stays trapped in the film and shows under the hand. 220 paper, vacuum, then the next coat.
Laying Mylac on an old waxed floor without Shellac Barrier Seal. The old wax comes through and the film does not key. Re-sand and seal first.
Silicone furniture sprays. They make the surface impossible to recoat later. A soft cloth and a very mild soap solution, nothing else.
Wax over a varnished floor. It is slippery, gathers dirt and stops any future recoat. A Mylac floor is kept with Floor Cleaner.

Frequently asked

Your questions, our answers

Varnish or lacquer: what is the difference, really?

The family is the same — a clear, hard film over the wood — and so is the method: smooth surface, 2 to 3 coats, 3 to 4 hours between them, de-nib with 220. In the range, the lacquer is the product of the floor and the professional, Mylac and Mylac Extra; the varnish is the product of the brush, Quick Dry Varnish Kitchen and Bathroom. Choose by surface, not by word.

Can Mylac be applied by brush?

Mylac is optimised for spraying, but it is applied by hand with a good synthetic brush, without over-brushing. The board-by-board method is in How to varnish a wooden floor with Mylac.

What is Shellac Barrier Seal for?

It is the primer under Mylac. On a re-sanded old floor it blocks the traces of oil or wax that would stop the water-based lacquer keying; on a new floor it adds depth to the film. It also serves as a sealer coat under wax, on a low-traffic floor.

When can the furniture and rugs go back?

Light use after 24 hours, full hardness in 7 days. Heavy furniture and rugs after the week, with felt pads under the feet.

Can a kitchen worktop be varnished?

Quick Dry Varnish Kitchen and Bathroom is made for interior wood in kitchens: shelves, cabinet fronts, vanity tops. For a worktop where you chop and set down hot dishes, an oil or Hard Wax Oil, repairable locally, are easier to live with; see Wood in kitchens and bathrooms.