Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - Sealing Faux Wood-Grained Project

So far, my faux wood-graining project looks good but rather 2-dimensional, and I'd like to guild the lily, being the overachiever I am. :o

Can anyone advise on a type of product (such as acrylic polyurethane) that would be suitable to use over this kind of project which can be tinted but is translucent?? I'd love the look of amber shellac over what's there already, but don't think this will agree with the latex-based graining gel I used.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! :gmorning:

You can test the shellac theory very easy. Make up a test board, using the same material and procedure you used on the project, and let it cure fully. Pour on a bit of denatured alcohol, which is the solvent mostly used for shellac.

In fact, you can make your own shellac by mixing shellac flakes (I've seen them at WoodCraft and is also available online in several different "colors") but I can't remember the exact potion. All you need is shellac flakes and denatured alcohol. A spray gun is helpful, helps reduce the amount of brushing that may brush off some of the faux graining.

Aqua guard is a waterbased sealer than can be tinted using aqua colors--looks great over wood graining when tinted amber/brown. You could also try tinting store brand waterbased poly.