should i satin or pain my storage chest

[coryjameskeeble]

i made a storage chest form a mitre plan



and i didnt follow the simple method of take your time and mesure twice cut once



anyways its done but it is full of bog and umm its for my old folks and the old man is real picky and should i satin it or paint it

[echnidna]

paint

[JB]

Well mate you could give it a clear finish and if your picky old man gets critical you could tell him not to look a gift horse in the mouth, and could he do any better anyway, and some more choice advice to boot. Of course you might be looking for new digs in Warragul within the hour, so you should consider your options carefully.
How about a compromise. Use a paste stain (it's like thin paint) such as Wattyl Handyman (walnut is dark brown and covers a lot of mistakes) then apply three or four coats of thin shellac. In between coats of shellac touch-up the bogged areas with a mixture of thin shellac and a pigment/ground powder (available as concrete colouring or from arts supply stores) in a similar colour to the stain.
This might sound complicated but it's one of the easiest finishing methods I know.
To finish off, buy a small tin of beeswax and finish the chest with that. Give your folks the wax along with the chest, and tell your old man to give the box a twice yearly re-coat of wax, applied with plenty of elbow grease.
The wax and shellac are available from my favourite supplier of finishing products, U-Beaut Enterprises.