Let the Finishing Begin!

I found the finishing schedule for the corner cabinet on a web page that belongs to Jeff Jewitt called "Mission Finishes". On that page, Jeff gives schedules for reproducing the look of various Stickley mission finishes. The actual Stickley finishes are a secret & so can't be reproduced at home.

The schedule involves compeleting the following steps:

1. Dye the wood with TransTint "Brown Mahogany" dye diluted with distilled water at a ratio of 1 oz. of dye to 1 quart of water.
2. Apply a single coat of Waterlox Original Sealer & Finish & allow to dry 24 hours.
3. Lightly sand with 320 grit paper.
4. Glaze with Bartley's Walnut Gel Stain and let dry overnight.
5. Apply 2 coats (brushed, 4 or 5 coats wiped on) of Waterlox Satin finish.

I'm working on some samples right now. I've completed steps 1 through 4 on the samples and applied 3 coats of satin finish so far. I tried applying the dye with more & less dye in the rag, but it always came out the same color. So I decided to go ahead & dye everything before I had finished making the samples. The color was going to turn out the same, so there was no real reason to wait.

So the following are pictures of the major parts after dying. The doors:

The lower cabinet carcase:

The upper cabinet carcase:

That's enough for now. Next time, more on the finishing.