Occasionally, I will outsource (locally) some part of a job that I can't spend the time to set up and produce myself. This bookcase with drawer storage was one of those jobs. It had to be built in just a few days on a tight budget. We made the cabinet boxes but I decided to have the doors and drawer faces made at a friends shop on a CNC machine. The CNC (Computer Numerical Control) allows you to design something first on the computer and then cut that exact design into almost any material. The materials used here, for the doors and drawer faces, is high quality MDF called Ranger Board. MDF (medium density fiberboard) is very stable, much more so than a door produced with solid wood which may warp or twist over time. The frames are cut from a 4x8 ft sheet of material which means there are no glue joints to glue up...or worry about coming apart over time. The MDF is also an excellent surface for paint. The finish was sprayed with an HVLP spray gun and gave us an ultra smooth, brush mark free surface. The photo above shows the unit still in the shop prior to being shipped for install.

Confused, bewildered and mystified as to which waterborne finish you should use? Yep, I've felt that way too! I have been using waterborne finishes on all my projects for the last year now and have run into my share of snags.

Of course the snags happen on the final coat at 3am, 4 hours before a scheduled delivery. You know...when the customer needs those cabinets that day or the entire universe is going to crumble into dust and it's all your fault because you had to go and try to be all earth-conscious and spray a waterborne finish...and it looks like snot. There is a learning curve to spraying WB. There are temperature requirements, issues of appearance and, of course, durability. Recently found this informative pdf to help take out some of the guess work:

In-Depth Test Results: Waterborne Finishes by Chris A. Minick