Bathroom vanity, what to finish with?

[peter slamp]

Hey all, I was thinking about designing a bathroom vanity. What is the best finish to protect it from the ravages of steam and water? The carcasse will most likely be some sort of ply with framing done with hardwood, if this matters. The vanity will likely be stained a darker color. Are there any issues I should consider in the planning process? Thanks, Peter

[Russ Filtz]

I would just seal the wood using sanding sealer, DW shellac, or a pure Tung type mix (the tung will pop the grain, darken it a bit, but you also need to let cure). Then top it off with poly or epoxy bartop finish.

You might be able to get by with just a witches brew with poly mixed in, either BLO or tung.

[Jim Becker]

There is no need to use something like epoxy for a bathroom vanity...properly applied modern finishes will work just fine. For example, my recent cherry vanity project is finished with BLO (for grain/coloration), de-waxed shellac (for color and sealing) and water borne acrylic. (Target Coatings in my case)