Roger Ballou writes:

 

A few months ago I had a project taking a brand new server finished

in brown cherry, apply black undercoater, rub the edges and top coat

with a pre-cat.  I've attached two photos. 

I rubbed the black undercoater edges with maroon Scotchbrite.  I had the

client in the shop and observing how much black I took off and what areas

I rubbed so I knew what she wanted.  Her original instructions were to just

leave it up to my good judgment.  No thanks.   The Scotchbrite gave me

excellent control of how much of the undercoater I removed. 

I really got lucky on the top of the piece.  The undercoater appeared to be

completely opaque after I applied it and even after smoothing the surface

with 320.  However, when I applied the finish coat the original brown

cherry color peeked through so it looked as though it was worn through.

The pattern was broad streaks from left to right where I sprayed the

undercoater a little thinner.  The photo of the top is pretty poor with

reflected light but you can get the idea.

I had the client inspect the piece after the first top coat and she was every

bit as pleased with the effect as I was.

Roger Ballou
Arlington, TX