ideas on finishing

i am going to make a box jewellery/whatever.going to be an octagonal .veneered mdf.have never done one before so any help will be greatfully accepted.thing is i wanna do a fairly shiny finish.have been going through it in my mind,but mind is at a standstill.do i finish it part by part as i do it,spray is not available.is gonna be in about 5 pieces so small parts will have to look equally as good as larger parts.maybe i am not so clear in what i am trying to get across but i trust in all you people on this fine forum.its the smaller parts got me wondering,any help greatly appreciated.hope someone out there knows what i mean from my not too clear post.

Hi Paul,

Welcome to the Best Woodworking Forum around - in my humble opinion:D

What sort of veneer are you covering the MDF with?

If it's something like Silky oak or baltic pine, I'd go for a shellac finish, but do a couple of practice/test runs on a scrap piece of timber first to get the feel for the shellac.

To be honest, are you able to post a few pictures of the box? This would help greatly in giving better advice suited to your box.

Cheers
Wendy

i know my thread is about as clear as mud.the box will have between 10 15 different veneers on it i am gona start it this week so i will post a few wip pics.as i said i am unsure wether to finish each part as i go along or wait & finish it all at once.will be some small compartments in it so there is my problem.i will look at a shellac finish ,i have never tried one yet. :) :)

cheers paul

Just a thought.

3 coats of danish oil with wet rubbing(600 grit) during each coat to help fill the grain.
Leave for a few days, more if its cold.
Quick rub back with 600 grit, then 2-4 coats of "Minwax Wipe On Poly"(gloss).
If its too shiny when your done, you can dull it down by buffing after a week or two of curing.

I'd go with shellac. The first coat or two will raise the grain a bit ready to be final sanded. It will also prevent sanding dust from contrasting timbers getting into the grain and making the whole thing look muddy. As Wendy says, do some test runs first.