Jesse: I had just finished a Walnut book case for my son last year; I used three coats of De-waxed, natural amber Shellac as a base and a couple of coats hand wiped poly. As a finish coat (only on the table top) I used a couple of coats of Spar Varnish (My Son is kind of sloppy) as an added deep protection. It really made the grain pop and the spar