orepass

Fortunately I have planed, scraped and sanded all of the parts during assembly so all I have to do is touch up a couple of spots and remove a pencil mark or two and apply finish. Over the last couple of weeks I have thought about the best way to finish off the coffee table.  Initially I apply a coat of clear de-waxed shellac to seal the sanded surface. Next I applied two coats of a mahogany gel stain . The red color of the stain will find the grain of the oak and add little bit of color without moving too far away from its natural color. On the lower portion of the table I finish with 3 more coats of shellac. sanding in between. Then I use steel wool and wax to provide a very smooth protective finish. Since I applied the de-waxed shellac I am able to use water based stain and a water based polyurethane for the top. I realize that as a coffee table it will receive quite a bit of abuse so I want to protect it as best I can.  You can see the slightly darker board in the picture of the top. At this point I think it adds character and does not detract from the table. two more coats of Poly and I’m done.