Staining and sealing cabinet

Hi all,

Newbie here :D

I have just finished building this Fish tank cabinet in Pine and Ply.

http://users.on.net/joelwillis/cabinetjan05.jpg

And I am up to staining it (want to start tomorrow)

I want a very dark chocolate finish to suit the rest of the furniture in the house.

Can anyone recommend any products/methods.

Someone has suggested to me to prime with feast watsons fungishield.

Is that necessary/recommened?

Should I use an all in one stain and estapol or do it in steps?

Thanks for you help (hopefully before the morning) so I can go shopping with some knowledge to back me up ;)

Joel

All in one stain doesnt cover very well.
Though after 5 or 6 thin coats it can start to look good.

On pine I prefer oil based stains as they are generally easy to apply and a separate clear topcoat. I prefer sprayed lacquer or brushed shellac as top coats

Practise on some scrap pine first.

I wouldnt use one of those all in one stain/lac, pref get water based stain for pine it soaks in real quick. When your at the shop just look at the stain color charts, the pine wood will add a little yellowish tinge to the stain color,this may not be a problem for you because of going so dark colored.
You will need multiple coats to get a dark color, you can use sanding sealer under the stain they say it evens out the "soak in".
The first coat looks real terrible...
Ive heard some give the surface a very fine mist of water several minutes before applying water based stains on pine.
It would have been best to stain it before final assembly to get full seamless coverage, you can get away with it on lighter stains like baltic.

hey newbie go visit your local paint shop they know what to "paint" pine with and then u can finish off with clear spry lacquer don`t try spray or brushing estapol as it takes to long to dry and the result is crap

wattyl trade shops or mirotone stockists are your best bet and don`t let them bluff you off by them saying they do not have these products for i know for a fact they do and they are great.

Tigerbat5