Step Five: Finishing

Sand all surfaces with 120 and then 150 grit sandpaper on an orbital sander. Make sure to get the plugs flush and take care not to grind through the veneer. Plywood tends to be rather dense and un-accepting of finishes. The high glue content and thin veneers keep it from being very absorptive. In an effort to darken the wood a bit and bring out the grain, I used a mixture of 80% teak oil and 20% paint thinner for the undercoat. The thinner helps get into the denser grain. Rub the oil into the wood with a clean, lint-free rag, let sit for fifteen minutes, then buff off any excess with another rag. Once (thoroughly!) dry, buff down with some high (220+) sandpaper, then top coat with an oil-base poly. I used a water-base poly, which is fine as long as the undercoat is 100 million percent dry before the top coat is applied. Otherwise, the top coat can bubble and peel. Once dry, buff down with 220 grit and wax. Assemble the four boxes in a grid so that the 3/4" sides of each bed are all to the outside perimeter and the 1/2" sides are to the interior. Insert shelves, then flex doors into place, sliding the top of each door up into the top dado first and then settling into the bottom dado. If doors don't slide freely, sand down the edges and wax a little bit with paste or auto wax for smooth operation.

Throw your mattress on top and take a well-deserved rest!