First finish

[Cochese]

I know nothing about finishing. Never needed it until now. I've slapped some Shellac on a butcher block counter, but that's it.

This is a kitchen table made of soft maple, curly maple and Baltic birch ply (the latter two make up the top). My wife wants a darker table, along the lines of a walnut. I need something that is foolproof to apply and isn't super expensive. I've heard that gel stains are easy, but I don't know how much I'll need (a half pint doesn't seem like it will cut it).

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[chopnhack]

Practice on scraps, the curly maple may blotch because of the grain pattern... that said, spraying will help you achieve a more even stain if you go that route. Can you spray?

[Cochese]

No way to spray as of right now. I was thinking of upgrading my compressor or getting an Earlex next year, but nothing in time for this.

If the curly maple is the biggest problem, I could switch to something else like Oak as it's just the edge trim.

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[Cochese]

I picked up some GF gel stain, in java. First results are promising. Hopefully I'll have some pics in my table thread by the end of the weekend.

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[chopnhack]

Very cool!! Take pics all the time!
Write down your finishing steps so that you can reproduce them in the future. Its really important that you do the sample board the same way you intend to finish your piece, to clarify, make your sample board big - if you use a small board the chances of you running into application problems like you would on the full scale piece may not happen. For example, if you have a table top, especially a long one, will you brush on the finish across the entire top before rubbing off the excess? will you be able to do so before the finish starts to set at one end? think logistics before you start, you'd be surprised in the difference between small and large! good luck.

[Cochese]

Let's just say I won't be selling anything anytime soon. Luckily I'm better at my day job.

[chopnhack]

It takes practice, it is an art after all. Dont give up! :-)