My DeWalt receiver works in bright sun if I shade it with my hand or a scrap of wood. Not a toy, @juliag10, it saved us a full day on that curved wall.

Yeah @juliag10, that's the real issue. The concrete is just sitting there, it's the moving ground that breaks it. A good base is everything.

Forget the thin coats and hand-rubbed look. Matthewkim got lucky with a pine table, but try that on a real work surface and watch it fail. Wipe-on poly is just a watered-down finish that can't take a real beating. You need the full build and hardness of a brushed coat for anything that will actually be used, not just sit in a corner. That old oak dresser is a show piece, not proof the shortcut works for real furniture.