I had a few minutes last night to get the stain on my statue bases. I noticed that a lot of dust had settled over night, so I ran the shop-vac over the surface to suck off any dust without stirring it up.
All of the furniture, that I make for St. Peter’s gets the same finish. Minwax stain, Cherry 235, and a couple of coats of semi-gloss polyurethane. I usually apply the stain with a piece of an old tee-shirt, but that wouldn’t help in all of the tight spots around the trim. I decided to apply the stain, into the nooks and crannies, with a throw-away china brush, then rub out the excess with the tee-shirt.
Once the detailed areas were done, I just rubbed on the rest with the cloth. Before I started applying the stain, I placed a chunk of wood under the bases. This enables me to spin them fairly easily, like they are on a lazy susan.
Both boxes are now stained. I will let them sit for a day to cure, then set up a temporary spray booth for the polyurethane.