So, I am pretty
adept at the "carpentry" part of the project. The finishing is where
I am confused.

This is normal. It takes alot of experimenting with finishing to get a good
feel for what works and what doesn't.

First of all, it appears I should have
used a lacquer finish from what I've read.

Nonsense, laquer may be optimal for some circumstances, but ig you are not
set up to spray it, you probably don't want to go threre anyway. Poly is
just fine.

I've read to
use the polyurethane as is or dilute it.

A general rule for just about all finishes... the more you put on in a coat
the bigger the errors (drips, runs, brush marks). IME, Full strength poly is
just too goopy to lay down with a brush. It you thin the poly (20% give or
take... not rocket science) you will be able to put on less and it will
flow out more easily.

You *Will* need more coats for the same build.

I've read to wait the amount
of time on the labe (3-4 hours), or wait longer (a week)for it to
"cure"before applying the next coat.
....
Any suggestions?


1) set aside 2 weeks for finnishing... get used to it. If you rush it
quality will almost always suffer. Chill; expect it to take some time.

2) Although cured poly needs to be roughed up for adhesion of a second layer
there is another reason to do it: dus nubs. You are probably not going to
sand out a drip but you can eliminate minor dust pickies or raised grain. It
just takes a lite touch and a quick wipe-down wieth fine sandpaper. This
works better as the finish is more cured (crunchy, less plasticy). Wait an
extra day; chill.

3) 4 thin coats always looks better that 2 thick ones. The expectation that
2 coats of just about anything is going to give you a consistent quality
finish is unreasonable. If you lay on finish thick enough to get even
coverage in 2 coats, it's going to be gloppy.

Patience... it's mostly just waiting.

Good luck,

Steve





--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com