Corner Cupboard Stained and one coat
Bill Tindall, E.Tn.
This piece has been an adventure. Almost noting about it have I done before in building case furniture, and that now includes the finish. And I still have decisions to make on the top unit.
The carving presented a stain challenge, as did the crotch figure. The whole of the piece was sprayed with Zinsser clear shellac diluted 1 part to 4 of alcohol followed by sanding at 400 grit and dust. This step provided a wash coat to partially seal the porous parts of the wood and the carving.
Next stain was sprayed on at low pressure, more of less to fog it on. The stain was prepared from 1 gram medium brown, 2 grams reddish brown Transtint and dilute to 100 grams with isopropyl alcohol (to slow evaporation rate). Enough stain was applied to just darken the wood a bit. The door panels are the lightest color cherry I have ever seen. Experiments showed it did not darken near as much as typical cherry. And, there was some color variation among the other pieces. Hence, some staining was desirable to even color and get a start of natural darkening. .
The first coat of finish has been sprayed on to seal the stain. The finish is Gloss Waterlox diluted 3 parts varnish plus 1 part naptha. Upon cure it will be sanded with 400 paper followed by additional coats of varnish, finishing up with a satin gloss for the final coat. I have a test piece I cam carrying along and I will use it to determine number of coats to get a close- to -the- wood finish but with good luster and protection.