New Cradel

[MIKE PFISTO]

This is my first post so excuse me if I seem to much of a novice for everyone. I have done a couple woodwork projects over the years and a unfinished wood store near my home sold GENERAL FINISH and MASTERCRAFT products. The mastercraft is a gel type stain. The cradel is made of red oak and I must say it came out very nice. My better half wants to have a cherry type stain with a high gloss type finish. My queston is after I pick out the stain I was looking to finish with Waterlox. I believe I understand the process and I was not going to use any grain fillers. So if anyone could offer any advice I would appreciate it.
Thanks Mike

[Steve Schoene]

Do some tests on a good size piece of scrap and see if you like the effects you get with those material. What I would expect is to see a lot of pigment concentrated in the open pores, giving the grain a lot of emphasis/ The high gloss finish would be sunken in the grain and raised on the wood in between. Personally, that's not a look that I like but it's your "client's" preferences that matter. If high gloss was important then I would want to use a pore filler so that the surface would be smooth or very nearly so.

Also, if you find that emphasizing the very "oakish" grain isn't what you really want, you could achieve the color by using a dye instead of a stain with pigment. Pore filler could then be tinted to either make a close match to the dye stain, or to provide what ever degree of contrest you find pleasing.

[Sam Yerardi]

Mike,

I'm not familiar with the products you mentioned but what caught my eye was the application. Make sure you check out what's in the finish material, etc., as this is going onto a cradle. I always double check anytime I do something for children or younger to make sure what I am using is safe. Most finishes are safe once they've cured, unless they contain lead or other substances that are harmful. But even with that prospect, make sure nothing in the finish schedule is something that if ingested wil be harmful. As I'm sure you know, babies (and children) love to chew on things.