With a handful of projects under my belt, I'm ready to make a coffee table. What I don't know is how it should be finished. I know it will get its share of cups, mugs, and plates resting on the surface. I just don't know shellac from shinoal about what to use to protect it. if I stain it, what do I use to cover the stain? Do I use shellac? Again, I'm new at this.
If you've got kids I strongly recommend water based polyurethane, it's easy to apply easy to clean up, and i have proven with three kids through their teenage years that it will endure.
Sprayed lacquer is my favorite. Two coats and you're done.
Many people also rave about general finishes wipe-on Arm-R-Seal, which is a urethane.
It may take a little more time to build a finish, but if you don't have spray equipment it may be the best choice.
As with any new finishing schedule, make sample boards and finish them with each step you plan to use (including sanding through different grits).
If you want to add color, subtle to intense, dyes are the best. Since you are new at this, look at general finishes dye stains. Eventually you will want to mix your own (easy to do). For a topcoat, water borne (gf has one) or oil based poly (minwax works great for me). If wiping or brushing, recommend oil based. Yes ob poly can go on over wb dye/stain, and vice versa, but wipe ob stain with dna/h20 1:1 before applying wb finish.
Shellac, lacquer, poly — both oil and water borne — are all good choices for a coffee table. I'd recommend taking some scrap, sand it like the table will be, and play around with all of them. See which one you get the best results with.
Edit: reading Willie's post, which came along while I was getting around to my reply, reminded me that wiping is so much easier than brushing if you don't have a sprayer. In fact, Minwax wipe-on poly is about as foolproof as you can get, but there are lots of other options like he mentioned.
I like wipe on poly for something like this. It's hard to mess up. Goes in easy and quick and provides good protection. Better with more coats.