Polycrylic vs. Polyurethane to Seal Wood

Choosing a sealant for an unfinished wooden desktop

One of the first things I struggled with when I started dabbling in furniture building and refinishing was understanding the difference between polycrylic and polyurethane. I wasn’t sure when it was appropriate to choose one over the other, how many coats I’d need of either, or what finishes were best.

Today I’m going to share the answers to those questions with you to save you the searching! Because I’m refinishing my unfinished beech table top desk from Ikea! Here it is in a photo from our old apartment:

Why seal it?

Because the table top comes unfinished, you can choose to seal your piece of wood or stain and seal it. Staining is a personal though. You could definitely stain it to change its color, but I personally love the light color of the beech wood. So I chose to just seal mine (also referred to as “finishing” it).

When wood is “unfinished,” it means it isn’t sealed or protected. It can easily absorb water, for example, leading to those circular water stains we’re all familiar with. It can also absorb stains from food if you’re a slob like I am and eat like a messy monster at your desk.

So let’s talk about polyurethane

Polyurethane is a common sealant for wood projects. Here is the run-down on polyurethane, including the different types and pros/cons.

• Polyurethane provides an extremely durable finish. It can be oil-based or water-based, and it generally comes in matte, satin, semi-gloss, and gloss finishes.
• Traditional oil-based polyurethane has a very strong odor and should be used in well-ventilated spaces only, while water-based polyurethane has a much lower odor.
• Water-based polyurethane dries much faster than oil-based polyurethane. However, oil-based polyurethane is more durable.
• Both water- and oil-based polyurethane can lead to yellowing, which is lovely when finishing a piece of richly pigmented stained wood—not as lovely when finishing a piece or furniture painted in a lighter color like white or wood with a lighter stain that you don’t want to yellow.

I use polyurethane a lot of the time when finishing stained wood projects. However, I did use a satin water-based polyurethane to seal the tree branches for my DIY cat tree made of a real tree project because I needed them to dry quickly and wanted them to have very little sheen.

Questions about applying polyurethane? I used semi-gloss polyurethane in a post on how to stain and finish wood. The process it pretty much the same for water- and oil-based polyurethane, as well as polycrylic.

Now let’s cover polycrylic

Now that you know what polyurethane is, let’s talk about polycrylic. It’s similar, but there are some key differences.

• Polycrylic is a durable, water-based finish, which comes in matte, satin, semi-gloss, and gloss finishes.
• It dries quickly, with only a couple of hours required between coats.
• It is a thin, opaque liquid, but it does not yellow furniture, so it’s fantastic for lighter surfaces.
• Since all polycrylics are water-based, cleanup is easy and can be done using soap and water.
• It should be applied in quick, thin coats. Unlike polyurethane, polycrylic dries so quickly that you can’t go back and smooth out a spot right after you’d applied it.
• Since it dries so quickly, applying polycrylic with a small, smooth roller is a good option, especially on larger surfaces.
• Polycrylic generally provides a less durable finish than polyurethane—and can also be more permeable than polyurethane.

If I’m not using a specialized finish, I usually use polycrylic to add durability to painted pieces. I love that the cleanup is so much easier than it is when using oil-based polyurethanes, and polycrylic won’t yellow lighter pieces. The process for applying polycrylic is the same as polyurethane.

Here’s what I chose for my wooden desk

I chose polyurethane. 🙂 When I purchased my desk, the directions said to oil it regularly with wood oil for protection. Guess what I didn’t do? Oil it regularly with wood oil for protection.

It quickly became full of stains since I couldn’t easily wipe it clean. I couldn’t even dribble water on it without it making a mark! It drove me crazy when I tried to clean the table, too.

And here’s how I did it!

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• Minwax polyurethane in semigloss
• 220- and 320-grit sandpaper and rubber sanding block
• Small foam roller
• Tack cloth and rags

(Remember to wear a mask and eye protection while sanding and working with wood. Follow the directions and warnings from your particular brand. Read my full terms of use here.)

Step 1: Sand

First I gave the entire top and sides of the table top a light sand with the 220-grit sandpaper to buff out any stains. I used this nifty little 3M sanding block.

You could also use an orbital or hand sander to do the job. It will be faster and more thorough. But I would only do that if you’re working in an area you aren’t worried about getting messy like a garage, workshop, or outdoors. They are definitely messier in terms of dust flying.

Step 2: Clean dust off

I wiped the piece down with a rag to remove the excess dust, and then I wiped it down with tack cloth to remove every last bit of sanding residue.

Step 3: …and seal!

I used a small, smooth roller to apply the polyurethane to the entire top and sides of the desk. After the first coat had dried (follow the instructions on your brand of polyurethane), I gave the entire top and sides a light sand using the 320-grit sandpaper to pop air bubbles and even out the finish.

Then I repeated step 2 twice to achieve three coats of polyurethane. And here it is finished before I put anything back on it. So fresh and clean!

This project was long overdue, and it would have been so much easier to do it had I bit the bullet when I brought the desk home nearly two years ago! But hey, better late than never, right?

So how’d it hold up?

Currently I can say that my desk top is still going strong—even 8 years later! I have a standing desk now for my main workspace, and I moved this table top to my craft room. It has held up extremely well. There are a few minor scratches from having heavy plant pots on it, but otherwise, it looks exactly the same. What a workhorse!

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