Replies

1. 
   MikeHennessy | Nov 03, 2005 03:47pm | #1

   My wife & I made our kitchen cabs a few years ago from maple & maple ply with cherry accents. We used Watco oil (clear) for the first coat instead of stain, just to pop the grain, and finished up with three coats of a good, water-based polyurethane sprayed on with an HVLP unit. In the cabs where it would have been a pain to spray inside, we just used a pad applicator. (If you go this route, make sure the Watco is really dry before applying the poly. We waited 3 days just to be sure.) I had thought about using a catalized poly instead of the regular stuff for added durability, but didn't want the added hassle. The regular poly is holding up fine and we like the way it looks. The undercoat of Watco warmed up the color beautifully so it doesn't look as "plastic" as the poly would alone. In all, a pretty painless solution.

2. 
   JeffHeath | Nov 03, 2005 08:03pm | #2

   Jeff Jewitt's book on Finishing is excellent.  He's pretty much the FWW guru on finishing, and I pretty much learned what I know about finishing from reading his articles and books.  He also has a web site,  Homestead Finishing, which has it's own Q & A.

   Jeff

3. 
   timgren | Nov 03, 2005 08:22pm | #3

   That's an easy one.

   In a word "Waterlox".   Buy it either off the net, or at your local Woodcraft store. (Rockler refuses to carry it for some reason)

   Plenty of instruction on the net, it's almost mistake-proof to apply, and it makes a truely wonderful finish.

    Personally - I dont like poly's. It's just too synthetic looking. And if it were me - I'd stay with a satin sheen.  High gloss cabinets look too "Walmart" for my pleasure.

    

1. 
   John_D | Nov 03, 2005 08:23pm | #4

   Can you pad it on, or do you brush, or must you spray?  I've not got a good place to spray...

4. 
   BG | Nov 03, 2005 11:24pm | #5

   Pmcin01,
   Getting a book on finishing is a very good idea...start in the library. Be prepared that finishing is 50% of the work in making most things and cabinets are no exception. It helps if you think of finishing as four processes: preperation, staining, sealing, finishing and many like to rub out after that. The advice can focus on any one or more of these processes and can be quite confusing..until your comfortable with the lingo and the processes. To get the best results the processes need to integrated....not too much sanding....or too heavy a sealing, finishing coat...etc. so the details are important...ask lots of questions, these guys know their stuff.