Wine Cabinet

I have experienced your pain. I had finished a project with the same product, and it was very difficult for me to work with. The only reason I used it was because it was a perfect color match to the rest of the furniture in the room, which was something my client specified. I figured that I would get better color consistency from a premix than having to mix colors on my own. I did get the color, but with all the nooks and crannies, it was very hard to control brush marks and streaks. I was told to give water based dyes and tints over de-waxed shellac a try, and then seal it with and appropriate topcoat. I personally recommend General Finishes Polyacrylic in satin. It dries fast and leaves a very nice feeling finish.

WOW! There are a lot of beautiful drawers! Great job! ...and I hate finishing too! Always takes 10 times longer to do the finish as it does to make a project or at least it seems like it.

-- Never board, always knotty, lots of growth rings

VERY nice! Maybe I’m an idiot, but where do the wine bottles go?

-- It's the best woodworking show since the invention of wood... New episodes at: http://www.stumpynubs.com

It may not be the finish you were aiming for, but I think it turned out gorgeous. I so understand your difficulties with staining….. soft woods especially. It’s almost impossible to get an even color unless the wood is dyed before staining. Something I have recently learned and not tried yet. Here’s an article than may be of help. It even has a piece of furniture simillar to yours. You would never know it was made with three types of wood.
http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Staining_and_Blending_Difficult_Woods.html
I also would like to know where the bottles go :-) In the drawers maybe?

-- Paul, Plantagenet, Ontario