[Bob Andersen]

The general recommendation seems to be lacquer will work OK if you allow the BLO to fully dry out for a week or so. I plan on sealing it with some shellac first too.

[Bob Andersen]

The BLO and pumice turned out very gritty. Trying to sand it smooth quickly killed the sandpaper, Also, when I put a little test clear lacquer over it, the pumice was still visible as white crystals like salt. Perhaps if I had used only the finest grade pumice it would have gone better ?
[Image: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8140/87065...5b80_c.jpg]

So I just stripped it off with some Zinsser green gell stuff and used Constantine's walnut paste filler.
[Image: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8394/87065...e061_z.jpg]

The temperature went from 85F to 45F in only 24 hours so I'll just have to wait a bit longer before proceeding.

[Arran]

I'm sorry to hear that this didn't work out, I was hoping that it would as I planning to try it myself. Maybe, as you say, you need to use a finer grade of pumice.
Regards
Arran

[Bob Andersen]

I used some shellac to seal the cabinet and it's just about ready for some toner
[Image: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7317/87212...7ccd_c.jpg]

[Bob Andersen]

I got a tip that Krylon fast drying spray paint was compatible with lacquer so I did a little test on a scrap of poplar. First shellac sealer, black gloss Krylon and, finally, Watco gloss lacquer. It came out just fine - no bad reactions at all

That saves me from have to mail order any black lacquer
[Image: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7330/87229...e883_c.jpg]

[Arran]

After it dries give it a scratch test, if the clear coat doesn't scratch off the top of the black paint it's fine. I made a mistake once of spraying Krylon Clear over top of Mohawk toner and it wouldn't bond, mind you it was pretty obvious that something wasn't right as it dried. However I never had a problem with the Krylon fast dry spray paint and lacquer.
Regards
Arran

[Bob Andersen]

The clear coat is just fine I just finished up with the brown mahogany toner and it's just a bit more red than I'd like. Perhaps perfect brown would have been a better choice ? Regardless, I'll press forward and start masking it off for the black trim. I expect that's going to take quite a while!

[Image: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7308/87471...b88c_c.jpg]

[Arran]

It did come out rather red didn't it, though I won't say it looks wrong, it looks like the original finish on Joe's set may have been closer to a medium walnut.
Regards
Arran

[Bob Andersen]

Yeah, that's a shame because I have a can of medium walnut handy. I suppose I could put a dusting of it over the cabinet, but I'm afraid of making it too dark. So I'll just continue on. After all, I can always strip and refinish it in the future.

[Arran]

I wonder if you could buff some of the brown mahogany off with 0000 steel wool or wet sand it so it doesn't look quite as red?
Regards
Arran

[Ron Ramirez]

Good to know about the Krylon paint and clear lacquer. I am hoping to get a 41-KR refinished this summer. It will have to be painted white, then a silver PHILCO decal added, followed up with clearcoat for protection of the decal.

[Bob Andersen]

It's was quite easy to wipe off the toner with a rag and some lacquer thinner without removing the grain filler. I'll try again with some medium brown walnut tomorrow weather permitting.
[Image: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5456/87605...eae3_c.jpg]

[Arran]

Sometimes it's just better to start again before you get too far, it isn't a large cabinet so not to hard to take a step backward. It looked nice with the red tone to it but if it wasn't quite right it would continue to bug you every time you walked by.
Regards
Arran

[Bob Andersen]

Yes, I knew it would drive me nuts and now was the time to change. This is also another good reason to use toner instead of stain. It's far more difficult to redo stain.

[Bob Andersen]

Here it is with medium brown. I can live with that
[Image: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7363/87684...51aa_c.jpg]