Finish and Final Touches
I got caught on the wrong side of winter when it came to wrapping up this project. By the time I was ready to apply the finish the days were too cold or too humid. I had to wait until Spring was approaching in order to move the desk into our garage for this step. This did give me extra time to think over the type of finish and method of application. Since it is a desk I wanted a hard, durable finish.
Shellac has become my goto finish for most furniture projects. However, I was unsure if it would hold up to the wear in this case. A few emails with Vijay from
Shellac Finishes convinced me to go with his
Royal-Lac Post-Catalyzed finish, and to spray rather than brush or pad. Vijay is a great resource and super helpful. Even if you never plan to use shellac I encourage you to watch his videos on how shellac is gathered and made. It's a fascinating process.
This is the finish plan we worked out for the desk. The only deviation is that in the end I decided not to spray the final, low-gloss coat. The client was unsure about how shiny shellac would be, but in the end liked the shine as is. The low-gloss would have dulled the final finish to a semi-gloss. Twelve coats in all.
I prepped the desk surfaces by finish sanding to #300 grit using a ROS. In hindsight I would recommend a filler over the lacewood before beginning. It's fairly porous compared to the cherry. Before beginning the shellac I applied a coat of Danish Oil to give it some depth and bring out the grain. Be aware this darkens the tone, something not everyone may want.
I used an Apollo HVLP Sprayer I originally purchased to finish our cabinets. It had been a while since I used this, so the first step was to reread the instructions and practice. I filled it with water and sprayed a cardboard box to make sure I was confident. I repurposed some stands in order to "hang" the top. This made it easier to spray. The base was turned upside down on some saw horses so I could more easily spray the legs. You also need good lighting, so pull out the construction lights.
This was the first time I had sprayed shellac. My previous experience was with water-based finishes, lacquer and polyurethane. I'd have to say that shellac is the easiest. It dries before it has a chance to form a run.
Hardware
After the shellac had dried thoroughly it was time for reassembling all the parts and putting on the drawer pulls. The client selected a set of vintage rosette pulls from an antique store. This led to the next set of questions. Should I center the pulls by the rosettes or by the pull height. Examples abound both ways. Here's how each choice looked on a sample drawer.
The pull on the left has the rosettes centered. The pull on the right is centered by the overall height. This meant raising the rosettes about 3/8" above the center line. It always amazes me how much angst this sort of decision causes. Not sure why... I mean it's not like you're about to bore a hole in something that was months in the making. In the end the second height was selected.
And that brings us to the end of this story. All re-assembled and waiting to move to its new space. Thanks for sharing this journey with me.
I lobbied for the legs you described, but these are the legs she wanted. She likes the simplicity. The turned out feet/pads remind her of a ballerina. 
In the end, if she's happy I'm happy.
