[Ron Ramirez]

Some final thoughts about this project:

The cherry veneer furnished to me for this project looks very nice with walnut stain and Medium Walnut toner, even if the grain is running in the wrong direction. However, if I ever have to do a project like this again, I would prefer to use veneer that is not self-adhesive. Instead, I would use veneer that has no adhesive on it and glue it on with a good coating of Titebond II wood glue between the veneer and substrate. I would use the iron to make the glue set up quickly and to help press out any air bubbles.

I am still a novice when it comes to cabinet refinishing. I would like to learn how to get that smooth piano finish without the pores showing. I am aware that a good way to do this is to use filler, but I still don't know what kind of product to buy for this purpose.

I'm not so sure high gloss lacquer was the best choice for this project; satin or semi-gloss would have been better, I believe. Certainly, I was working against the possibility of having no more warm days in 2010, and so I grabbed what I found in the local hardware store to get the job done - and all they had was high gloss lacquer. As it turned out, it rained very early this morning here but has not rained since, and the temperature is around 80 as I type this. Plus, it is not going to get as cool later this week as was originally forecast. So there was no need to rush after all. But at least the project is finished.