Still going....

Well, I haven't succumbed to the urethane fumes...yet...

Since my last blog post I have been working on finishing the cabinet doors. They are done! It took a little trial and error to figure out the best finishing technique for what I have to work with, but I'm pretty happy with the result.

Observations so far:

• Minwax oil-base polyurethane is unusable out of the can if you want a smooth finish. It's way too thick. Even though its instructions say to not thin it, most accomplished woodworkers do. Add me to those ranks. I found that thinning it 25-33% with naptha gave me the best results. White mineral spirits work too, but take longer to dry. In a dusty Kansas farm shop, faster is better.
• Many woodworkers claim that poly should be double brushed. Many initially lay down poly against the grain, then shortly tip it off with the grain. This is a bad idea...at least with oak. Brushing across the open grain of oak puts bubbles in the finish. I got more bubbles with this method than a single brushing with the grain and not tipping off!
• Use a cheap disposable foam brush. I bought an expensive natural bristle varnish brush at Home Depot but it just plain and simple puts down too thick a coat. You can only dip it in the finish maybe a quarter inch, then brush maybe a foot of board per stroke. Cheap foam brushes lay a lighter coat but can hold more for longer strokes. Even on the pantry doors I was able to load up the brush and make a single stroke the full length of the door. Oh yeah, all cheap foam brushes aren't equal either. The wood handled ones from Walmart are actually pretty good. I had a bunch I got at Harbor Freight or somewhere that had a more open, less dense foam than the Walmart ones and they were more bubbly.
• Sanding between coats is really worth the effort! I've been using 3M "Sandblaster" 320 grit sponges (they're the yellow ones) between each coat and it works really well! I used to use 000 steel wool, but after using these sponges I won't be using wool anymore! After sanding, I blow the dust out of the grain with compressed air, then wipe the surface with a towel dampened in mineral spirits before recoating.
• Even thinned 25%, 3 coats is enough. On a table top I might put on more, but I like the balance of appearance and protection I'm getting with three. I think going for 5 or more like you hear some guys talk about would start making a dipped in plastic and much less natural look.
  
• Stir the can of finish frequently while brushing! The flattener (the stuff that makes mine semi-gloss rather than poly's natural high-gloss state) rapidly settles out of the thinned polyurethane. I just keep the handle from a used foam brush in the can and stir it a few strokes every few minutes while brushing to keep the finish sheen even.
  

Anyway, tomorrow I should finish up putting the end panels on the cabinet carcasses. (This is a chore to address in another post.) Then hopefully around the end of this week the cabinets will all be finished and it will be time to demo the kitchen.

Here are some pics of the current status in the shop: