Shaker Chimney Cabinet - Part 8 Applying the Finish

 With the construction now done, it was time to apply the finish.  I wanted to keep things simple and predictable.  As such, I used shellac.  Over the past 5 or 6 years, shellac has been my go to finish.  I find it easy to apply and like the way it looks.  For cherry, I like to make up a 1-1/2 lb cut of garnet shellac.  That would be for the outside.  For the inside, I wanted the cherry to be a bit lighter.  As such, I opted to buy Zinnser spray cans of blond shellac.  I've never sprayed shellac.  Given the size of the piece and that it is the inside where I worry a bit less, I thought it would be a good option.  Also, I decided I would do the back with the spray cans of shellac.  Again, it is the back.

To help avoid overspray, I covered the outside.  I sprayed outside with a respirator and used light coats.  After 3 or 4 coats, I denibbed and did another 3 or 4 coats.  I think I used 4 cans of shellac in total.  It came out good.  I definitely had a few runs.  I am sure if I did more spray shellac I would get better at it.  I removed the overspray coverings and applied 4 coats of garnet shellac.  From there, I lightly sanded and denibbed.  Then, another 4 coats of garnet shellac.  I like to wait 2 to 4 days after I've applied shellac before waxing.  I find the shellac hardens a bit more as the final traces of ethanol evaporate.  I waxed using a maroon ScotchBrite pad.  After an hour or so I buffed it out.  Installed the doors and carried it into the home.  It is going in the guest bathroom.  Finished.  

I had wanted to make this piece for a long time; before I was woodworking.  I felt a lot of satisfaction.  There are plenty of things that demonstrate by skill limits.  However, each project gets better and that's all I can hope for.  I did use the maker's stamp on this one that my wife purchased for me on father's day.  All in all a good project. Another relief, I have the blog series done on this piece.  I want to document my making.  Given how large of a project this was for me, I had some apprehension writing this up.  So much work to talk about and so many photos to sort through.   After a large project like this, I like to do a few smaller ones.  In the next post, I will outline a project that took 40 hours instead of the 190 hours it took to make this Shaker chimney cabinet.