[Geoff]

Once the second coat of grain filler was applied to the front I scraped off the excess with the plastic putty knife then wiped it down with burlap. I then let it dry overnight. It still had a pretty muddy appearance. So I went ahead and wiped it down (with the grain) using #0000 steel wool. It made things smoother but it still had the muddy appearance so I decided to lightly sand the front again with 320 grit sandpaper. I just sanded enough to remove the muddiness and make it a bit lighter. Once done everything was nice and smooth. The grain filler stayed in place and was not removed by the sanding. I then went back over the areas where the grain filler got into the holes for the escutcheon, controls, and the sides of the grill. Next time I use grain filler I’ll make sure to mask these areas. Getting excess grain filler from these areas was a real pain. I also went over the sides and top again with 320. As I stated above, I think I used a little too much sanding sealer in those areas. The sanding sealer still remains, just not so heavy as it was before. The front panel does not have any sanding sealer at all.

At this point I would say the cabinet is ready for the first coats of clear. My plan now is to do a light mist coat on the entire cabinet followed by a wet coat. Once dry I plan on taping off the sides, top, and trim and then hitting the front with medium brown. I would have done that yesterday but it was overcast and rainy. It was a bit overcast today too but tomorrow is supposed to be clear and dry. I’ll post some pictures when I’m done.

- Geoff