A few pics posted to ABPW.
The project is a bathroom armoire: towel storage up top, his & hers hampers on the bottom.
Wood: Poplar Construction: mostly pinned M&T. I lag bolted on the turned feet. interior hamper frames are M&T and pocket holes.
The finish:
- Sand and ease the corners. Easing the corners first is important; if the corners are eased last, you will go *through* the pigmented layer.
- Mix bin (white pigmented shellac) with pigment from the paint store and apply just to the raised edges
- 2 coats of BIN (brushed)... dry overnight
- Sand to level the finish. Some of the pigment will show through. You want to make sure that the pigmented layer is fairly level. BTW a VS ROS is really nice for this task set on low speed.
- 1 or 2 more coats of bin. dry overnight
- Take one more light pass with the ROS to ease the brush strokes from the bin
- Hand sand the edges lightly with 220 just enough to show as much color as suits you.
- Spray a light coat of "clear spray acrylic - satin" from an aerosol can (available at lowes, I'm not sure what this stuff is, but it smells like lacquer to me) It appears nicely compatible with the shellac and it leaves a smooth even sheen. It also seals any wood exposed by step 7.
I know that "painting" is not exactly the holy grail of wood finishes around here but it worked for the decor that I wanted. My house is 150 years old and something contemporary and crisp would not feel right to me. I also like the effect of highlighting the contours of the design.
A cabinet scraper is effective at removing drips, but I find that the pigment in the bin is abrasive and can dull a scraper quickly.
I like this finish schedule as it is *very* forgiving. You don't have to be particular about getting a good blemish-free coat with the shellac as it gets leveled. If you over sand, just apply some more shellac. Minor mistakes blend into the distressed look.
I like it for the application and that's what counts.
Steve