Leon wrote:


FWIW "varnish" is pretty much a generic term to describe any clear
protective finish including shellac, lacquer, etc. Basically a resin
dissolved in a liquid.


Now that's not at all what I have always understood varnish to be. In fact,
I've always understood it to be distinctly different from shellac. Nothing
similar in their qualities. Likewise lacquer. That might explain some of
the things that have come up in this thread. Shellac for example, behaves
much differently than polyurethane varnish does. It takes recoats
differently, etc. It reacts or cooperates with other finishes much
differently than other finishes do. I've just never seen the term varnish
to be a generic term - rather, a more specific term. I can't tell you the
chemical composition, but I've always seen it to be a very specific
compound. I don't really think it's safe to say "a resin dissolved in a
liquid" - that leaves way too much room for definition.

Having said that - Leon may be correct in that the term has roots in the way
he's saying, but I believe in today's vocabulary, the term varnish has a
completely different (more specific) meaning.

--

-Mike-