bookshelf finishing test.

So just wanted to test the wood conditioner and stain combination and see how it was going to look on the luan-veneered plywood and VG fir before I go to town this weekend and finish this thing (well - it'll take a week to put on the 4-5 coats of varnish - so it'll just be the stain this weekend).

Exhibit A -

I had some of the Zinsser stuff leftover from when I did J's bed + some Minwax stuff from I have no idea ... so I thought what the heck - since I had both of them why not see if there was a difference.

On the left obviously is the Minwax. On the right - the SealCoat. Hmm - the SealCoat is pure crap. The Minwax stuff is about 3.6 billion times better. Oh - and on the far left - no conditioner (note how the wood grain has pretty much disappeared ... so that's no good - duh).

Holy cow that's gorgeous. It's General Finishes Rosewood water-based stain that I picked up at the local woodworking shop the next town over. Tomorrow I'll test what a second coat looks like - but with that + 4-5 coats of satin varnish I am definitely excited to see how this bookshelf turns out ...

(close-up of the lousy SealCoat results ... )

Oh - and the other day I finished assembling all the pieces, routing the top and the final sanding so everything is ready to go ... supposed to be gorgeous out this weekend - perfect time to put on some music and stain away!