Wood care

Lacquer and varnish guide

Tough, clear protection for floors, furniture, kitchens and bathrooms

Choose

Which lacquer or varnish do I need?

Your project	Our finish	Why
Domestic wooden floors: living rooms, bedrooms, hallways	MyLac in Matt, Satin or Gloss	Water-based, low odour, fast drying, slip-resistant
Busy domestic and commercial floors: shops, offices, restaurants, sports halls	MyLac Extra in Matt or Satin Matt	Two-pack with hardener; our toughest finish
Turned work, doors, handrails and joinery	Melamine Lacquer Gloss	Hard-wearing, with good heat and water resistance
Kitchen cabinets, bathroom woodwork, doors, shelves and panelling	Quick Dry Kitchen and Bathroom Varnish in Matt, Satin or Gloss	Clear, water-based and wipeable; Satin is the safest choice for kitchens and bathrooms

Compare

Lacquer, varnish, oil or polish?

Finish	How it protects	Best for	Mylands option
Varnish	A surface coating that builds a clear, tough film	Kitchen cabinets, bathroom woodwork, doors, shelves, panelling	Quick Dry Kitchen and Bathroom Varnish
Floor lacquer	A harder film designed for foot traffic	Wooden floors and stairs	MyLac, MyLac Extra
Oil	Soaks in and hardens inside the wood, for a natural feel	Furniture, worktops, turned work	Wood Finishing Oil, Danish Oil, Hard Wax Oil
Wax	A soft, hand-buffed sheen	Antique and fine furniture	Wax Polish
French polish	Layers of shellac built up by hand to a deep shine	Fine and antique furniture	French Polish

For a floor, choose a floor lacquer rather than the varnish; for anything that touches food, choose Food Safe Oil.

Colour first

Which lacquer over which stain?

Lacquer is clear, so the colour you see is the wood beneath it. Stain bare, freshly sanded wood, wipe away the surplus and let it dry completely before any lacquer goes on, and judge the colour only once the lacquer is on top: every clear coat deepens it a little.

Lacquer or varnish	Earth Stains	Light Fast Stains	Nitrostains	Water Stains
MyLac	Yes, best	Yes, best	No	Only with Shellac Barrier Seal over the stain
MyLac Extra	Yes	Yes	No	Only with Shellac Barrier Seal over the stain
Melamine Lacquer	Yes	Yes	Yes, once the excess stain is wiped off and dry	Yes
Cellulose lacquers	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Quick Dry Kitchen and Bathroom Varnish	Yes	Yes	No	Only with Shellac Barrier Seal over the stain

From the Mylands data sheets, with the rules signed off by the Mylands Experts. Make a test board on the same wood and take it through every coat.

How to apply it

Continue

Apply

How do I apply lacquer or varnish?

Prepare the wood
Sand to bare timber, or clean and key a sound existing finish. Remove every trace of dust, wax and oil: lacquer and varnish won’t bond to them. Wax and Polish Remover lifts old wax.
Colour it, if you wish
Apply your stain to bare, freshly sanded wood, wipe away the surplus and let it dry completely before any lacquer goes on.
Seal if needed
Shellac Barrier Seal for Floors under MyLac on old, re-sanded floors and always over Water Stain, but not directly over Earth Stains; Cellulose Sanding Sealer under Melamine Lacquer.
Apply thin, even coats
Brush, short-pile roller or lambswool applicator for floors; brush or spray for Melamine. Varnish between 10 and 30°C with humidity no higher than 75%, laying off along the grain with long, light strokes.
Denib between coats
Lightly rub down the raised grain with 240 grit and remove the dust before the next coat.
Let it harden
Build the coats the wear needs, then give it time before full use. The varnish is touch dry in 2 to 3 hours and recoats after 3 to 4 hours at 20°C; use it with care after 24 hours, and it cures fully in 5 to 7 days.

Oak

Keeping oak pale under lacquer

Even a crystal-clear lacquer deepens the wood a shade, and on oak that tends to bring out a honeyed glow that can tip into orange. Water-based MyLac keeps this to a minimum, far more than an oil would. For a pale, Scandinavian or limed look, plan for it from the start:

Lay down a whisper of Earth Stain Chalk before you lacquer: its soft white tone quietly cancels the warmth.
For a gentle, smoky oak, try Earth Stain Clay: its grey undertone softens the yellow rather than hiding the grain.
Choose Matt: the lower the sheen, the more the floor looks like bare wood.
Always test first on your own timber, on a spare board with the full number of coats, then look at it dry, in daylight, in the room it’s going in.

Looking after it

Continue

Care

Looking after lacquer and varnish

Dust or vacuum regularly and wipe up spills straight away, especially around sinks, taps and the base of bath panels.
Clean floors with Floor Cleaner and a well-wrung mop; revive dull, lightly scratched floors with Floor Refresher.
Clean varnished woodwork with mild soapy water on a well-wrung cloth. Never use scourers, abrasive creams or soaking wet cloths.
Bring up the gloss on Melamine Lacquer with Burnishing Cream.
Recoat when the surface starts to look dull or worn, before the wood itself is exposed: clean it, key it evenly and apply fresh coats.

From the Mylands Experts

Judge the colour with the topcoat on

Don’t approve a stain while it’s wet. Judge it dry, then judge it again once the topcoat is on.

Martin’s advice

Products

Lacquers, varnish and what goes with them

Shop lacquers

Mylac Matt

AanbiedingsprijsVan £47.78
Mylac Extra Matt - 4.5 Litre & Verharder - 500ml

Aanbiedingsprijs£161.21
Melaminelak Glans

Aanbiedingsprijs£26.30
Snel Drogende Vernis voor Keuken en Badkamer Satijn

AanbiedingsprijsVan £39.62
Schellak barrièreafdichting voor vloeren

AanbiedingsprijsVan £31.39
Cellulose Schuurafdichting

AanbiedingsprijsVan £14.36
Vloerreiniger

Aanbiedingsprijs£11.83
Vloerverfrisser

AanbiedingsprijsVan £16.91

Questions

Lacquer and varnish: your questions

Is hard wax oil or lacquer better for a wooden floor?

Hard Wax Oil gives a more natural look and is much easier to look after: when it wears, you clean it and re-oil it, with no sanding back. Lacquer gives a sealed, harder-wearing surface that is easy to clean, but scratches are harder to repair invisibly.

What is the most hard-wearing finish for a wooden floor?

MyLac Extra, our two-pack lacquer, is the toughest. It is designed for heavy-traffic commercial floors as well as busy domestic floors.

Can I lacquer over a stained floor?

Yes. Earth Stains and Light Fast Stains are best under MyLac and MyLac Extra once dry. Water Stains need Shellac Barrier Seal first, so the lacquer does not pick up the stain. Nitrostains are not suitable under MyLac or MyLac Extra, or for floors. Don’t put Barrier Seal directly over Earth Stains.

What is the best varnish for kitchen cabinets?

A tough, water-based varnish in a Satin sheen is a popular choice. It is wipeable, it hides fingermarks well and it keeps natural wood looking light. Mylands Quick Dry Kitchen and Bathroom Varnish is made for exactly this.

Can I varnish over wax or oil?

No. Remove wax and oil completely first, or the varnish will not stick.

Can I use the varnish on a floor or a worktop?

No. Quick Dry Kitchen and Bathroom Varnish is for cabinets, doors, shelves, panelling and bathroom woodwork. For a floor, use MyLac or MyLac Extra floor lacquer. Where food is prepared, use Food Safe Oil.

Need advice?

Ask our team

Call us on 020 8670 9161, Monday to Friday, or visit our showroom in West Norwood. We make every tin, so we can answer almost anything.

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