Re: various finishes

Good points. Discussing finish types can be as dangerous as discussing religion or politics!

As an aside, I'd agree about shellac vulnerability to alcohol damage (and heat marking for that matter). I give my clients a blurb sheet covering do's and don'ts. It's the price you pay for what is arguably the most flattering of finishes - coasters and heat mats and the like. Shellac does however "hold up over time" - most long term aging studies list shellac as about the most durable furniture coating out there - absent human intervention.

Urethanes get short shrift in my shop for two reasons, their tendency to look cloudy and unduly "plasticy" (less true if you graduate to industrial 2-pack spray polys) and their Achilles heel - their lousy ability to hold up in direct sunlight. Something about their macromolecular structure being more vulnerable to free radical UV damage than other finish films as I recall. I'd go for a good quality alkyd varnish any day.