Glossy Black Finish

[Steve Eure]

I am building a makeup vanity for one of my daughters. It is being built with red oak ply and red oak lumber that I had lying around. She wants a gloss finish. What is a good recomendation to get this type of finish?

[Wayne Lomman]

Dark grain filler, black dye and black toning lacquer. Did a restaurant that way once and it looked good. Otherwise two pack high build primer filler and black two pack polyurethane from an auto paint shop. Either will work. Both require considerable effort to get a full finish. Cheers

[Steve Schoene]

If you are stuck with oak then dye, followed by dark pore filler (likely taking two coats) and followed by the black lacquer topcoats that rub out well.

But, in general the first step of good finishing is to choose your material well. Maple ply and lumber would be much less work to achieve a full glossy finish.