Flawless Wiped Finish
For great results with wipe-on polyurethane, you have to go beyond the instructions on the back of the can.
The stairwell in our new home, a 1940s cape, turned out to be a little too tight for our 1990s bedroom furniture. As a result, our 14-drawer chest and a tall wardrobe were relegated to the basement for storage. Rather than shopping for smaller furniture, my wife and I agreed that this was my chance to design and build the Shaker-style built-in I’ve dreamt of for years.
In keeping with the Shaker aesthetic, I chose cherry for the face frame, doors, and drawer fronts. I wanted a durable, low-luster clear finish that would be easy to apply without having to worry about brush strokes or overspray and would bring the cherry’s grain pattern to life.
Over the past thirty years, I’ve built lots of cabinets and furniture and applied almost as many different finishes. Paint, shellac, varnish, urethane. You name it, I’ve probably tried it—brushed, wiped, or sprayed. And while each project turned out OK, I was never satisfied with my results until developing this method for applying polyurethane. The secret is in the sanding.
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