Are you worried about the durability of high-traffic furniture? Let us introduce you to Tough Coat!

In this tutorial we'll show you our tips and tricks on how to seal your table tops for a beautiful and durable finish. If you'd rather watch a video, we also have a video tutorial available towards the bottom of the page!

All of the paint and finishing products used in this tutorial can be found on our website at www.countrychicpaint.com.

Step 1: Paint Your Piece

Tough Coat can be applied to almost any water-based surface, but it’s generally used to seal in the finish of our paint.

It is very important to make sure that you let your last coat of paint dry for at least 24 hours before proceeding with Tough Coat, otherwise you may end up with a streaky finish.

Step 2: Stir the Tough Coat

Tough Coat should never be shaken. If you do shake it, you can incorporate bubbles which may appear on the finish of your piece. We recommend stirring the contents of your jar for about two minutes, an occasionally during application if you’re working on a large piece. You don’t want important ingredients to settle at the bottom!

Step 3: Apply Tough Coat

Using a foam brush, apply Tough Coat in long, smooth strokes in one direction. Tough Coat dries quite quickly, so you’ll want to keep a wet edge and avoid going over the same area twice. If you see a patch you’ve missed, resist the urge to go back and fix it. It’s better to wait until the first coat is fully dry before you do touch ups or you can add texture to the finish.

It is best if the temperature that you are working in doesn’t exceed 70F or 20C. If you find that it dries too quickly, you can thin Tough Coat with up to 5% water.

Please note: NO wax should ever be used underneath Tough Coat.

Step 4: Add a Second Coat

We recommend using two coats of Tough Coat for optimal protection. Your second coat can be apply after approximately 2 hours.

Step 5: Cleanup

Since Tough Coat is water-based, it can be easily rinsed out of your brush with water and a bit of soap if needed. Your table top will be ready for use in 24 hours, but it’s best to wait about a week before you scrub it down at all. Give it a chance to fully cure before subjecting it to any intense cleaning.

Step 6:

In this video tutorial, company co-founder, Rosanne will show you how to apply Tough Coat to achieve a smooth, beautiful finish that will protect your work against daily traffic.

Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get access to all our videos!