Cabinet built, finish suggestions please.

[Bear]

If you want a finish that'll build up and is pretty easy to repair, look into shellac. I've done some furniture in it, and it's pretty easy. New shellac will melt into the old because of the one point of caution -- alcohol will melt it. Even the "clear" shellac tends to give a amber-yellow glow, so it might not work for a particular project. Oh, the drying time between coats can be really fast, too -- you can get many coats on in one day if things aren't too humid.

Bear

[gahult]

Golly gee, I've got a lot of good input. Thanks to all of you for your time and suggestions. Has anyone used Minwax brand for finishing they make a gel stain and their other products are locally available, so it's a good option for me. I don't see a paste wood filler comparable to the Bartley's so I'll have to research that further. Is Homestead good on delivery time and delivery charges? If so I might just go with them for everything if I have to order the paste wood filler there. Well keep up the input, there are a lot of good ideas here and one can always try something different for the surprise of a new look.
I'll keep checking back. cul
Thanks again,
Gary

[joebob]

You can probably find the Minwax at any Home Depot or Loews. I have used the Bartleys gel stain but not the Minwax. I like Petri's gel poly. I have used Minwax wipe on poly quite a bit and it is very easy and looks good. The owner of 'Homestead.com' is Jeff Jewett, probably the best known wood refinisher around, and his web site has an excellent variety of quality products. Thats why i posted it, but as i said Minwax can be purchased locally. I have used alot of the Minwax brand stains and poly and have always had good results, you should probably stay away from water based stain though. ALWAYS practice your refinishing on a scrap piece of wood first, and carry the refinishing all the way through to the end. This way you will know what it looks like when done. I have never ordered anything from Homestead, I use a place called Highland Hardware or Woodcraft or Rocklers in Atlanta for a lot of my finishing products. You can search google for them, Highland is a Premier woodworkers site and not just a simply hardware store. So is Woodcrafts and Rocklers.

Dave

[martins3325]

If you want a finish that'll build up and is pretty easy to repair, look into shellac. I've done some furniture in it, and it's pretty easy. New shellac will melt into the old because of the one point of caution -- alcohol will melt it. Even the "clear" shellac tends to give a amber-yellow glow, so it might not work for a particular project. Oh, the drying time between coats can be really fast, too -- you can get many coats on in one day if things aren't too humid.

Bear

+1 On Shellac..nice middle ground between Lacquer and Oil & Wax. Easy to touch up..bonds phenominally well to wood..drys super fast..nice amber color..non-toxic. Nice patina but not the 'plasticy" looking gloss that poly can have. If you want to get real old world, and develop a somewhat lost talent maybe try French Polish --typically reserved for high end classical guitars-- which is a particular method of applying shellac flakes dissolved in alcohol..applied with olive oil and pumice..which if done right is gorgeous!

[martins3325]

Speaking of shellac..heres my head cab I just got done finishing..it was ALOT of work to get it where I wanted it to be..its also got alot more gloss than the pictures show..about the same as lacquer. It is made out of flamed hard rock maple I sourced..had Larry Mann do the box building wood working then I finish sanded, and finished and buffed it...alot of work..needed alot of finish sanding..then the spraying/wetsanding/buffing is alot of work as well. Trick with shellac is, unlike lacquer, you wetsand with olive oil not water like you would with lacquer..im happy with the results..really shines like glass in person.

[IMG:646:490]http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d137/ ... P_2125.jpg[/img]

Fits in with my amp arsenal well!

[IMG:790:464]http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d137/ ... P_2127.jpg[/img]

[Paul86]

Nice one!

[Distortion]

Hey Martin,
It looks great.

Good job...

[skyboltone]

I'm a strong proponent of Tung Oil finish.
It penetrates the grain well.
It imparts a very slight tint without coloring the wood.
Very easy to rub on. Mulitple coats can be applied in a matter of hours.
After several coats it can be polished to fairly glossy finish.
It handles stains extremely well.
Repair work is simple light sanding and spot application of tung oil.
It really shows off the grain.
It does have an odor that takes a couple of weeks to evaporate.
Polyurethane and Lacquer are a bitch to fix dings and difficult to get glassy smooth without multiple coats and sandings in between coats.

Latest example of tung oil on teak below. Sanded to 1000 grit. Then three coats of tung oil plus a wax coat. I purposely didn't go with the deep glossy finish on this one. With more coats it's possible to achieve a beautiful glossy finish.

This ain't fair SST. Poor guy posts a firewood cab and you counter with plantation teak. Sheesh. But at least he didn't ruin a saw blade to make his.

[sst4270]

Skyboltone,

LOL... You're right. But the finish recommendation still holds.
And good wood grain is still good wood grain. The bare cabinet he posted looked great!

I just bought a stunning plank of curly ash for my next build. It's got some great curl figure as well as some dark and light grain contrast.

Won't be built up until late August. Possibly sooner, but I'll post pics when done.

Steve

[bbrunskill]

Seriously, your cab is beautiful!

[martins3325]

Hey Martin,
It looks great.

Good job...

Thanks Larry..looks nicer in person even I think..pictures dont seem to capture the gloss. Nice work on the cab..thanks

[kec]

Watco natural danish oil + Minwax satin paste wax =

[img:700:525]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v521/ ... s/cab5.jpg[/img]

[gahult]

Some finish sanding and wax......done.
OK for 1st "firewood"cab . Now I can move on to Cherry and some other spensive woods.

Thanks

Gary

[Paul86]

Hey kec,
What IS that?

[dartanion]

Hey kec,
What IS that?

Looks like it might be myrtlewood.