The table is ready for the finish. I'll employ a multi-step process involving these products.
Sealcoat de-waxed shellac to seal the inlays,
Super Brass Mica Powder and Clear Shellac for gilding,
A Red Mahogany Stain for a base coat stain on the base and the top,
A mixture of Tung Oil finish and General Finishes "Nutmeg" gel stain to tone the base only.
Polurethane for the top coat of entire piece.
The table gets an initial coat of red mahogany stain. I don't want the light inlays on the top to get stained so I start by sealing them with de-waxed shellac.
The next step is to gild the routed profile of the top and the carved elements of the base. The gilding solution is a mixture of Mica Powder and clear shellac. There isn't a real formula here-it's just a matter of how dense a gilded texture is desired. I want the gilding to sparkle but not totaly cover the grain pattern.
I use an artists brush to apply the gilding to the edge. I want to cover the entire edge but not the top surface. If any gets on the top I just let it dry then scrape it off with a charp chisel.
The edge is gilded, and the inlays are sealed.
The shellac/gilding solution drys within a half hour so while the top sets I move on to the carved elements.
The gilding on the base is finished.
Next- I brushed on the red mahogany stain then wiped it of quickly. I couldn't take in between shots as I didn't want the stain to set too deeply especially in the top.
The stain went on quite dark and covered the gilding and inlays but because of the shellac base on those elements, after wiping off the stain, a nice contrast is revealed.
After wiping off this first stain coat I let the table set over night. The next day I made a glaze out of Tung oil varnish and the gelstain. This was applied to the base only and there just to the non-gilded sections
I let this set over night and then the next day applied 2 coats of Gloss Polyurethane.
