Emergency Box Finishing Advice Needed

Yes, okay, I'm running a touch late. :rofl: My box is ready for finishing. Now this is what I have at home.

Finishing.jpg

I have dry shellac but not the denatured alcohol (have to drive an hour to pick it up). I also have a better quality bees wax.

I want this all done by Wed. That's 48 hours.

What do I have time to use?

I know I have time for the oil and just the wax. (thanks Vaughn). Do I have time for anything else? I didn't know I could find the Bullseye spray shellac until this morning.

In what order?

How long do I wait to wait between steps?

When do I have to sand (again) and with what grit?

Thanks for any and all advice!
 
well not knowing the wood type and what look you are going for makes it a little harder but I'd say use the wipe on poly, sanding at 400 to knock down the nibs between coats. Use the sponge sanders if ya go em. Time between coats will vary with temp and humidity.
 
IMHO you won't have time for the oil. I would go with a seal coat of shellac and then either the wipe on poly, 2-3 coats or spray poly, which ever dries faster. I prefer to wait a week before final waxing to be sure the poly is dry. I actually prefer lacquer instead of poly, and Deft has it in spray cans or qt. cans for brushing or spraying.......at least it is here in the Great Plains (or pretty good plains:rofl:) Good luck:thumb:
 
Throw the stain away, IMHO. Beyond that, any of the products you show will work fine. One or two coats should suffice. The more coats you apply, the glossier it will be. If you're looking for a "Grand Piano" gloss, save it for the next project, as there's not time (and you likely don't have the buffing supplies) to do it on this one. (Also keep in mind that wax is not a finish. It's a protective layer for the finish.)

You're making this way more complicated than it needs to be, Cynthia. ;) During the period of time you and I have been discussing this offline, I've put two coats of a wipe-in varnish/oil finish on my swap box and now it's pretty much done. This is not the time to be experimenting with exotic finishing schedules. Just put some finish on the wood and wait. Like Don said, you can use 400 grit sandpaper between coats to get rid of the dust bumps that may develop, although ideally the last coat shouldn't need sanding.
 
Put 3 coats of the shellac on and sand between coats. Give 2 hours drying time between coats and brush it out thin. Then take the Poly you have is the spray can and apply one coat wait the recommended time of drying and apply another coat. Wait the drying time period and sand with a high gt paper 400-600 and either spray on another coat or wax. You can get this done in 2 days. :thumb:
 
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, .....

What Dave said, use the shellac, quick and easy, fast to dry.

..... tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick . . .. .. .
 
I agree with Sharon, make this an interactive box, you know, they have to provide some of the work for ownership rights! Sand and send, the new owner can do what they think best and it might be completely opposite of what you were thinking so even though you built the box, it might become a whole new creation. Of course unless it comes to me, then,,,,,,,,, well it might stay a sanded and unfinished box!!!!:eek::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
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