The piece I'm working on is a free standing cabinet that will be in a bathroom and used for storage. Part of the cabinet is dyed and then has three coats of General Finishes (GF) Polyacrylic semi-gloss (water based).
The remaining pieces of the cabinet are a maple top, maple base and maple drawer fronts.
I sanded all the maple to 180 then applied boiled linseed oil. It really made the grain "pop" and looks great right now.
My shop is in the basement with limited ventilation and I really like the water based finishes.
My plan was to now apply three coats of the same GF finish to the maple that I've oiled in hopes it would add some depth, shine and protection.
However, someone in a store recently suggested I leave as is with the oil only because water based finishes should not be used for bathroom pieces due to the fact alchohol will break it down.
Beyond spilling something, I guess a main concern is my wife's hair spray.
So.. a few questions:
Should I sand the maple to 220 or is 180 fine ?
Should I leave as is with just oil ?
Am I okay with going with the GF water based finish and if so will that add to the "look", depth, protection ?
Will it be eaten away in the bathroom?
How long should I let the oil dry ? (others told me a week).
I'm ready to finish this thing so I'm really looking forward to hearing the thoughts from you guru's. I've
Thanks in advance !