Finishing Cherry?

Hey all,

I am very new to woodworking as a hobby. My father – in – law has been woodworking for years and has done a ton of very nice furniture and who has taught me a lot this past summer. My first project has been a cherry king size bed frame as well as 2 cherry nightstands to go with it.

He has shown me how he has finished a lot of his pieces (which look awesome) and so I followed him. These are the steps that he told me to do:

1. I have sanded my pieces down to 220
2. Wet it to raise the grain and sanded it again with 220 grit.
3. After wiping off/ blowing off the dust, i put a coat of sanding sealer on the entire piece.
4. Next I would sand it over lightly with 220 grit again and start applying coats of varnish (2 brush coats and a spray coat).
5. After waiting 3-4 weeks , we applied wax to it.

This is how I was taught and know nothing different. If there is a better way / different way please let me know! I am just trying to learn as much as possible!

-- Austin 'ofgortens' , Provo, UT