Finishing painted wood project

[Harquil]

I've just finished painting a shoe bench for home in a lovely aubergine colour but i'm not sure what to do next!

Its the Good Home water based paint from B&Q painted on with a foam roller. I would like to be able to protect the painted finish with something fairly hard wearing as it'll be sat on a fair bit!

Any advice will be very much appreciated.

 

[AndyT]

I suggest a coat or two of water based polyurethane. It's easy to apply, dries quickly and is available in satin or gloss.

 

[MikeG.]

Not my field at all, and Andy might well be right, but my instinct is to use an oil based varnish because a water based one might smear the paint below, or allow it to bleed. We (= my wife) has done this in our en suite.........oil based varnish over an emulsion.......and it has worked a treat. We did it previously through an entire kitchen which was still looking good after about 18 years. I'm not sure how easy it would be to alter or touch up, though.